November 2014 Earth Science Nuggets

Tags: General Public | NASA Headquarters | SMD E/PO Community | Nuggets

Discover-AQ Colorado, CIRES Education Outreach: Making Broader Impacts.

Susan Buhr Sullivan ([email protected])

• Increasing public awareness and action about air quality issues in Colorado’s Front Range:

Utilized CairClips on a series of public air monitoring hikes (64 hikers on 6 hikes with NPR coverage)

• Coordinated weekly air monitoring hikes & meetings with AQ researchers in Rocky Mountain National Park for NCAR interns & staff (4 hikes, 2 meetings, 4 interns & 2 staff)
• Hosted an air quality educator workshop at NCAR with interactive sessions & site visits led by mission partners (22 educators, 24 presenters)
• Promoted DISCOVER-AQ goals via participation at public events (DMNS Free Day & NCAR RAF Open House – over 2100 total attendees)
• Developed curricula for UCAR Center for Science Education’s Air Quality Teaching Box
• Contributor to the NOAA & CIRES project awarded the Colorado Governor's Award for High-Impact Research by CO-LABS

 

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NASA LaRC Science Directorate at NSTA Richmond.

Kristyn Damadeo ([email protected])

• NASA Langley Science Directorate members attended the NSTA Regional Conference in Richmond, Va. from October 16-18. The group staffed a NASA Langley Science Directorate Education and Outreach booth, as well as assisted with the NASA developed Planeterrella exhibit at the Virginia Air and Space Center booth. In addition, the LaRC SD E/PO team collaborated with the LaRC Office of Education, JPL, GSFC, and WSFC to provide a larger NASA presence and additional sessions.
  • More than 300 conference attendees visited the NASA booths and another 100 attended NASA presentations including:
    • SAGE III/ISS: A Collaborative Effort: Science, Engineering, Math, and Art (Kristyn Damadeo)
    • Sky Art: Sharing in the Beauty of Nature While Learning the Science Behind It (Kristyn Damadeo)
    • CERES S’COOL: From Observing to Understanding Through Classroom-ready Games! (Tina Harte)
    • Data Visualizations Made Easy Through MYNASADATA Live Access Server (Dan Oostra)
    • Elementary GLOBE Storybook: Building Science Inquiry and Literacy Skills (Tina Harte)
    • MYNASADATA: An Authentic STEM Experience (Preston Lewis)
    • CERES S’COOL: A Project for Cross-curricular Learning (Sarah Crecelius)
    • Understanding Earth’s Energy Budget Using NASA Resources (Lin Chambers)
    • Staffers include: Bruce Doddridge, Lin Chambers, Preston Lewis, Sarah Crecelius, Dan Oostra, Tina Harte, and Kristyn Damadeo
    • More than 1,000 participants explored Earth science through NASA Langley Research Center’s missions and projects
    • SAGE III/ISS: designing satellites and instrument payloads, around limitations such as weight, to help monitor the Earth’s vital signs
  • CERES S’COOL Project: assisting the S’COOL team with LIVE cloud observations and making cloud charts to take home to assist in understanding how clouds affect our weather and climate.

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Organization of Biological Field Stations Grants Award to Harvard Forest

Monica Barnes, NASA LaRC ([email protected])

• The Organization of Biological Field Stations, representing more than 250 research centers around the globe, has granted the Harvard Forest its 2014 Human Diversity Award.
• The award notes the summer program's strengths in:
  • Inclusive outreach methods that reach a wide range of applicants
  • Creating an inclusive and nurturing environment for program participants, and
  • Tracking program outcomes with the aim to improve program diversity, sensitivity, and effectiveness.
• NASA has supported 12 undergraduate students in this program in the past 4 years.

 

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“See Globally, Act Locally: How GLOBE Connects to Earth Observing Satellites”

Jan Heiderer, GLOBE ([email protected])

• The third consecutive GLOBE Student Art Competition, to illustrate the 2015 GLOBE Calendar based on the theme above, closed on 24 October 2014.  More than 300 entries were received from GLOBE students around the world – an increase of 20% over last year!
• GLOBE partners with multiple satellite missions including SMAP, GPM, CALIPSO, CloudSat, and Landsat 8. Student participation in the missions helps us to know more about soil moisture, land cover changes, water dynamics, clouds, and Earth's energy balance.
• To view all entries, go to www.facebook.com/TheGLOBEProgram