HR: 17:30h
AN: ED24A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Climate Discovery: Integrating Research With Exhibit, Public Tours, K-12, and Web-based EPO Resources
AU: * Foster, S Q
EM: susanf@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Carbone, L
EM: lcarbone@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Gardiner, L
EM: lgardine@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Johnson, R
EM: rmjohnsn@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Russell, R
EM: rrussell@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Advisory Committee, S
EM: susanf@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Ammann, C
EM: ammann@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Lu, G
EM: ganglu@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Richmond, A
EM: richmond@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Maute, A
EM: maute@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Haller, D
EM: doug@hallerconsulting.com
AF: Doug Haller Consulting, 5550 Stonewall Place #23, Boulder, CO 80303 United States
AU: Conery, C
EM: conery@bvsd.k12.co.us
AF: Broomfield High School, 3203 3rd Street, Boulder, CO 80304 United States
AU: Bintner, G
EM: gbintner@comcast.net
AF: Aurora Central High School, 7754 Kyle Way, Littleton, CO 80125 United States
AB: The Climate Discovery Exhibit at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesa Lab provides an exciting conceptual outline for the integration of several EPO activities with other well-established NCAR educational resources and programs. The exhibit is organized into four topic areas intended to build understanding among NCAR's 80,000 annual visitors, including 10,000 school children, about Earth system processes and scientific methods contributing to a growing body of knowledge about climate and global change. These topics include: 'Sun-Earth Connections,' 'Climate Now,' 'Climate Past,' and 'Climate Future.' Exhibit text, graphics, film and electronic media, and interactives are developed and updated through collaborations between NCAR's climate research scientists and staff in the Office of Education and Outreach (EO) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). With funding from NCAR, paleoclimatologists have contributed data and ideas for a new exhibit Teachers' Guide unit about 'Climate Past.' This collection of middle-school level, standards-aligned lessons are intended to help students gain understanding about how scientists use proxy data and direct observations to describe past climates. Two NASA EPO's have funded the development of 'Sun-Earth Connection' lessons, visual media, and tips for scientists and teachers. Integrated with related content and activities from the NASA-funded Windows to the Universe web site, these products have been adapted to form a second unit in the Climate Discovery Teachers' Guide about the Sun's influence on Earth's climate. Other lesson plans, previously developed by on-going efforts of EO staff and NSF's previously-funded Project Learn program are providing content for a third Teachers' Guide unit on 'Climate Now' - the dynamic atmospheric and geological processes that regulate Earth's climate. EO has plans to collaborate with NCAR climatologists and computer modelers in the next year to develop lessons and ancillary exhibit interactives and visualizations for the final Teachers' Guide unit about 'Climate Future.' Units developed so far are available in downloadable format on the NCAR EO and Windows to the Universe web sites for dissemination to educators and the general public public. Those web sites are, respectively, (http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery) and (http://www.windows.ucar.edu). Encouragement from funding agencies to integrate and relate resources and growing pressure to implement efficiencies in educational programs have created excellent opportunities which will be described from the viewpoints of EO staff and scientists'. Challenges related to public and student perceptions about climate and global change, the scientific endeavor, and how to establish successful dialogues between educators and scientists will also be discussed.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE
DE: 3300 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES
DE: 7900 SPACE WEATHER
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005