Climate and Weather: The Two Go Together

Girl Scouts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research

Rebecca Anderson & Andrea Sealy

Kristen L. Corbosiero, Vani Cheruvu, Yaga Richter, Christine Johnson and

Teri Eastburn

Goals: 1. To introduce young women to the atmospheric sciences in a single sex, non-competitive, hands-on and inquiry-based environment.

2. To show young women that female scientists are normal people, with families and hobbies, who are researching relevant and exciting environmental problems.

The program was developed by two

postdoctoral fellows in the Advanced Studies

Program (ASP) at NCAR in cooperation with the

Mile Hi Girl Scouts council.

The program brings 50 girls from around the

Denver area to the NCAR Mesa Lab in Boulder each

spring and fall.

The girls tour the exhibits and computer lab, walk

the nature trail and participate in

hands-on activities.

The first activity of the day, and one of the day’s highlights, is a

live weather balloon launch conducted by Kate Young of NCAR’s

Earth Observing Laboratory.

The girls learn see a live feed of data being collected in the atmosphere

and learn how it is used to help make

better weather forecasts.

Other morning activities include:

a)a water cycle game b)NCAR computer lab tourc)a keynote talk by a female scientist about her research and how she became interested in science.

The afternoon activities are focused

around a 50 page, full-color workbook

designed by the NCAR postdocs

organizing the event.

The workbooks are free of charge to the Girl Scouts as they are generously paid for by the Advanced Studies Program at

NCAR.

The workbook contains instructions for the

hands-on activities the girls will participate in

during the afternoon, as well as a number of

experiments they can try at home.

The workbook also contains information on weather and climate, and links to web pages where the girls

can get more information on science and technology.

At the end of the workbook are photos and biographies of

the NCAR volunteers the girls have

interacted with during the day.

Sometimes the girls even ask for the

volunteers for their autographs at the

end of the day!

Thanks to generous funding from the ASP office, many female (and a few male) volunteer

scientists and NCAR staff and assistance

from the NCAR Education &

Outreach office, over 200 girls have visited NCAR and participated in the GS@NCAR event!

The 6th GS@NCAR event, held this past September, marked the completion of

the 3rd year of events under the 3rd

generation of leadership.

We are now looking for new leadership to organize the next event for the spring

of 2008.Please visit the GS@NCAR

website for details:www.asp.ucar.edu/gswebsite

Other E&OOpportunities

http://eo.ucar.edu/

ASP Science Kits

• Designed by ASP postdocs- portable, hands-on demonstrations outside of NCAR

• Used for schools, church groups, retirement communities, etc.

• Density tank, Why we have seasons, Crushing cans, Clouds in a Jar and The Board of Chaos

UCAR/E&O activities• UCAR E&O booth

– demonstrations at various public activities (festivals, career fairs)

• Ice Fest, CU-Boulder March 8-11 2007 – Celebrating beginning of

International Polar Year (IPY)

– wide variety of activities around the theme of ice and snow, polar research and climate studies

• Taste of Colorado, Denver Labor Day weekend

(Photos courtesy of Ilan Kelman)

SOARS mentoring• Significant Opportunities in

Atmospheric Research and Science

• an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program designed to broaden participation in the atmospheric and related sciences

• seeks to involve more students from groups that are historically under-represented in the sciences, including Black or African-American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, female, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities

• Mentors: research, communication and writing, community

(Photos courtesy of Bob Henson and Rebecca Haacker-Santos)