The National Center for Atmospheric The National Center for Atmospheric Research Education and Outreach ProgramResearch Education and Outreach Program
Roberta M. Johnson, Director
Susan Q. FosterDeputy Director
UCAR Office of Education and Outreach
Why Is Education and Outreach Why Is Education and Outreach Important at a National Research Important at a National Research
Laboratory?Laboratory?• Numerous national studies have identified concerns
for quality of science education and level of public science literacy in America
• The UCAR Scientific Community has called for UCAR to take a larger role in education and outreach (EO)
• Previous studies have identified internal need for coordinated EO program for UCAR, NCAR, and UOP
• Education and Outreach office provides opportunity for – coordination, integration, and leveraging of resources– efficiencies of scale– proactive program worthy of a national research center– building on strengths of existing projects and expertise to
better serve the UCAR community and the public
UCAR Education and Outreach Strategic UCAR Education and Outreach Strategic PlanPlanMission:Mission: In partnership with the university In partnership with the university community, UCAR promotes science community, UCAR promotes science literacy and advances all levels of literacy and advances all levels of education and training in subjects related education and training in subjects related to Earth’s atmosphere.to Earth’s atmosphere.
http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/stratplan.htmlhttp://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/stratplan.html
GoalsGoals:: 1.1. Support Students and Professionals: Support Students and Professionals:
From Pre-K through Post GraduateFrom Pre-K through Post Graduate
2.2. Foster an informed public through Foster an informed public through science educationscience education
3.3. Promote the involvement of diverse Promote the involvement of diverse and historically under-represented and historically under-represented populations in the geosciencespopulations in the geosciences
Who is involved in Education Who is involved in Education and Outreach at and Outreach at
UCAR/NCAR/UOP?UCAR/NCAR/UOP?• UCAR EO Office
– Provides centralized support and coordination role for EO at UCAR, NCAR, and UOP
– Focus on K-14 integration of research and education– Assists scientists in UCAR community in development of education
programs supporting their research efforts
• UCAR Office of Programs – Develops and disseminates educational technologies and
resources (digital libraries, data streams to universities)– Professional training for meteorologists (COMET)– GLOBE
• NCAR Scientists– Advisors, reviewers of program content, mentors, role models,
and content presenters for students and the public
Formal Education• K-12 Students
– Mesa Lab Classroom Tours• K-12 Teachers
– Climate and Global Change Workshop– Modeling in the Geosciences
Workshop – Curriculum Development for HAO
Science in K-12– GLOBE
• Undergraduate– SOARS– Unidata– Undergraduate Leadership Workshop
• Graduate/Postgraduate Study– ASP, VSP, Graduate Fellowships,
COMET, SOARS• Digital Libraries
– DLESE, NSDL
Informal Science Education• Events
– Super Science Saturday, Public Lectures, Conferences
• Tours– Customized Visits, Guided and Self-
guided (Audio Tour)• Exhibits
– Mesa Lab Lobby (Upgrades)• Web-Based Resources
– Windows to the Universe– Web Weather for Kids– UCAR and NCAR EO web sites– Divisional EO web sites– Roberts’ Forum– Skymath, LEARN
• Outreach Resources:– HYPERSCIENCE from HIAPER
Current Education and Outreach ProgramCurrent Education and Outreach Program
NCAR Undergraduate NCAR Undergraduate Leadership WorkshopLeadership WorkshopJune 21 – 25, 2004June 21 – 25, 2004
http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/ulw/http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/ulw/
Benefits to student: • Gain broadened awareness of state-of-the-art research topics• Tour facilities and labs at NCAR and NOAA• Meet leaders in the scientific field• Explore models of leadership in science careers• Establish a network of peers that may extend for a lifetime
Benefits to university:
• Extended student’s beyond classroom experience
• Students learn more about graduate programs and early career experiences
A five-day program immersing college juniors and seniors in the atmospheric and related sciences
NCAR Undergraduate Leadership WorkshopNCAR Undergraduate Leadership Workshop
University:• Nominates student• Covers cost of travel to and from Boulder
NCAR:• Selects 20 participants• Covers costs of accommodations, food, activities, and local transportation• Application deadline: March 1, 2004
2002- 2003 University Sponsors:
Cornell, Denver Metropolitan College, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Jackson State, McGill, Millersville, Pennsylvania State, Plymouth State, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, St. Louis State, Universidad Metropolitana de Puerto Rico, UCLA Irvine, U of Maryland, U of Missouri, U of North Carolina Chapel Hill, U of Oklahoma, U of Miami, U of North Dakota, U of Toronto, U of Wisconsin Madison, US Naval Academy, U Louisiana Monroe, and Washington State
Significant Opportunities in Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research & Atmospheric Research &
ScienceScience Creates a direct pipeline to bring ethnically diverse students into careers in the atmospheric and related sciences including engineering, mathematics, and social sciences
Funding Agencies: NSFDOENOAANASACU-CIRESUCAR
www.ucar.edu/soars/www.ucar.edu/soars/
www.ucar.edu/soars
The Four-year Program Includes:The Four-year Program Includes:• Mentoring• Leadership training• Writing and communication skill
development• Career guidance and counseling• Financial support for Graduate School• Written report and formal presentation of
research and results• Support for presenting Summer Research
Reports at meetings and conferences• Publication of Protégé Abstracts in “Earth,
Wind, Sea, and Sky
http://www.ucar.edu/soarsResults: 1996-2003Results: 1996-2003
Thirteen (13) protégés in the STEM professional workforce
• Four (4) Ph.D. candidates• Sixteen (16) M.S. degrees; one (1) M.B.A.• Twenty-six (26) in STEM graduate degree
programs • Ten (10) with papers published in refereed
scientific journals• Three (3) AMS graduate fellows• Two (2) NSF graduate fellow• Fifty (50) oral presentations at national
conferences or meetings• Fifty one (51) posters at national conferences• Best Academic Mentoring Program, Westword:
Best of Denver 2002• 2001 Presidential Award for Excellence in
Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Mentoring
Rajul Pandya, SOARS Director, [email protected]
Contact:
• Participants selected from national pool of master teachers with significant training experience
• 2 weeks each, 20 middle/high school teachers• High impact through waterfall training model• Distance-learning programs in development
– NCAR Workshop on Climate and Global Change, July 21-Aug 1
• science content, activities, field work, standards, technology, and training support
• leading scientists and professional development specialists• http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/gewhttp://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/gew
– Modeling in the Geoscience Workshop, June 16-27• Funded by NASA through Earth System
Modeling Framework• Focus on use of models in geoscience education• http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/mgw/http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/mgw/
• UCAR recently selected for management of GLOBE
Professional Development for Professional Development for EducatorsEducators
GLOBE is an international science and education program that brings together students, teachers, and scientists to:
enhance environmental awareness of individuals throughout the world. support improved student achievement in science and mathematics. gather important environmental data for the global science community.
Air Temperature, Clouds, Precipitation, Aerosols, Water Vapor, Surface Ozone, Relative Humidity, Barometric Pressure, Surface Temperature, Water Transparency, Water Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Water Ph, Electrical Conductivity, Salinity, Alkalinity, Nitrates, Macroinvertebrates, Soil Characterization, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, Particle Density, Soil Particle Size, Soil Ph, Soil Fertility, Water Infiltration, Land Cover Site, Biometry, Manual Land Cover, Computer Land Cover, Land Cover Change, Budburst, Green up/down, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Phenological Gardens, Fire Fuel Ecology, Seaweed, Marine Macroinvertebrates, Arctic Birds
Current GLOBE protocols:
Mesa Mesa Lab Lab Tours Tours and and EventsEvents• Mesa Lab Visitors Center ~80,000 visitors/yrMesa Lab Visitors Center ~80,000 visitors/yr
– Theater, Interactive exhibits, Weather Trail, Science Store,
• Tour ProgramTour Program– Tours 7 days/week serve ~15,000 visitors/year– Customized to interests of public, students, scientists – Science inquiry experiences
• Super Science SaturdaySuper Science Saturday– ~3000 children and parents
• Supporting Science FairsSupporting Science Fairs– Student exhibits and awards
Mesa Lab Exhibit Mesa Lab Exhibit ProgramProgram
• Exhibit Planning– Assessment of current exhibits’ content, physical condition– Scientific advisory board– Prioritization of enhancements and upgrades
• New Climate and Global Change Exhibit opened June 2003
• Now working on Climate Futures exhibit for spring 2004 opening
• Planning for major upgrades in Weather gallery in 2005
Mesa Lab Audio TourMesa Lab Audio Tour
Funded by NSF Geoscience Education
– Offers a thorough, self-guided orientation to the ML for visitors that do not take guided tours
– Focus on research, science concepts, exhibits, & ML architecture and natural environment
– Content for both adults and children in English and Spanish
• Preliminary results:– Perception that audiotour has changed the public’s mode of interaction with NCAR
exhibits– 997 users to date since opened July 21
• 687 during summer (2 kids:3 adults) over 5 weeks (~138/wk)• 310 during fall (1 child:6 adults) over 9 weeks (~34/wk)
– 10 requests for Spanish language version to date• Will be reaching out to San Juan Learning Center this fall (bi-lingual education
program in Boulder)
2003 Summary Statistics• 4.4 million sessions• 38 million pages served• 150 million hits• ~400,000 users per month in academic year
2003 Summary Statistics• 4.4 million sessions• 38 million pages served• 150 million hits• ~400,000 users per month in academic year
• Brings Earth and space sciences together with humanities content to share excitement of research and exploration with the public
• Over 70 Web Awards to date• Over 6000 web pages/visuals
on site• Over 800 teachers trained on
site in FY03• 77% of users in K-12
– 31% middle school, 31% high school, 15% elementary
• 47% use once per week or more
Spanish translation of Earth and Sun sections of the website opened in December, 2003!
~2200 users per day after 3 weeks
Windows to the Universe WebsiteWindows to the Universe Websitewww.windows.ucar.eduwww.windows.ucar.edu
National Science Foundation
Education and Outreach Web SiteEducation and Outreach Web Sitewww.ncar.ucar.eo/www.ncar.ucar.eo/
• Providing information about NCAR education and outreach activities and resources available from our UCAR Office of EO
• Presenting geoscience content relevant to the foci of NCAR science and appropriate to meet the needs of students, teachers, and the general public.
• Highlighting science research underway throughout NCAR in a way that is accessible and relevant to a general public audience and high school students.
Web Weather for KidsWeb Weather for Kids
• Introduces 11 – 14 year olds to the science of dramatic weather events and weather forecasting
• Includes hands-on science inquiry activities, weather stories, safety tips, and games.
• Invites students to join an online weather forecasting contest for Madrid and Denver
• Partially translated into Spanish
www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/webweather/
Unisys Prize 2000 for innovation in Web-based education
Westword Magazine 2001 “Best Science Web site for kids”
HYPERSCIENCE HYPERSCIENCE from HIAPERfrom HIAPER
Mission: to engage K-12 students, teachers, and the Mission: to engage K-12 students, teachers, and the public in the HIAPER Program from the development of public in the HIAPER Program from the development of the aircraft to its deployment on scientific campaigns in the aircraft to its deployment on scientific campaigns in
order to:order to:
• Achieve academic excellence in the STEMAchieve academic excellence in the STEM
• Recruit students into STEM careersRecruit students into STEM careers
• Model and promote diversity in the STEM workforceModel and promote diversity in the STEM workforce
• Showcase “ingenious” engineering in the service of breakthrough Showcase “ingenious” engineering in the service of breakthrough sciencescience
• Explore “real world” science addressing local to global scientific Explore “real world” science addressing local to global scientific challengeschallenges
• Teach math and science in the context of HIAPER’s exciting workplace Teach math and science in the context of HIAPER’s exciting workplace
• Highlight HIAPER’s interdisciplinary, interagency, collaborative Highlight HIAPER’s interdisciplinary, interagency, collaborative contributions to the evolution of knowledge and its societal applicationscontributions to the evolution of knowledge and its societal applications
High Altitude Instrumented Platform for Environmental ResearchHigh Altitude Instrumented Platform for Environmental Research
• Program Partners• Content Advisors• Mentors• Mesa Lab Tour Guides• Scientists in the
Schools• Ambassadors• Speakers• Wizards
•Working with scientists here and at UCAR universities to develop resources, programs, and provide training to support their own outreach
–Project development and implementation
–Sabbaticals for scientists to be involved in programs, develop expertise in this area
–Implementing training and volunteer programs
Scientist as Education PartnersScientist as Education Partners
http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/volunteer/http://www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/volunteer/
http://nsdl.org
The National Science, The National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics Mathematics Education Digital LibraryEducation Digital Library
The National Science Foundation’s online library of resources for science education …
…established to catalyze and support continual improvements in STEM education at all levels (K-12, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning).
NSDL is a work in progress NSDL is a work in progress being built by community being built by community
participation…participation…
TeachersContent Providers
ProfessionalOrganizations
GovernmentAgencies
Students
Museums
Universities
PublishersResearch
Laboratories
TechnologyExperts
Scientists
Earth and Space Science Earth and Space Science PartnersPartners
• American Geological Institute
• Argonne National Laboratory• Carleton College• Colorado State University• Columbia University• Cornell University• Dartmouth College• Digital Library for Earth
System Education (DLESE)• Foothills College• Harvard Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory• Kent State University• Michigan State University• New Media Studio
• Northwestern University• Ohio State University• Scripps Institution of
Oceanography• TERC, Inc.• Universities Space Research
Association• University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research• University of Arizona• University of California –
Santa Barbara• University of Maryland –
Baltimore County• University of Southern
California
NSDL Resources – NSDL Resources – Diverse Topics and FormatsDiverse Topics and Formats
Documents
Interactives
Exhibits
Maps
Services
Tools
Videos
Data Sets
Animations
Images
VisualizationTools
LessonPlansNews
Communities of Practice
Professional Development
RemotelyOperated
Instruments
Opportunities for Opportunities for ParticipationParticipation
Participation in NSDL
• Contribute collections and services to NSDL• Utilize NSDL resources• Apply for grant funding to develop a collection, service, or conduct research.• Serve as an expert for the AskNSDL virtual reference desk• Join the NSDL community through our email newsletter, listservs, website, and committees for content, technology, community services, educational impact, and policy.
http://nsdl.org
For More Information:For More Information:
Contact Contact Dr. Roberta Johnson,Dr. Roberta Johnson,
[email protected]@ucar.edu
Susan FosterSusan Foster303-497-2595303-497-2595
[email protected]@ucar.edu