Stars and STEM Stories

From 30 November to 1 December 2012, a Latin America and Caribbean Regional Workshop and Trainer of Trainer event took place in CEI "San Ignacio" in the Valley of San Cabao, located 10 km from Junin de los Andes, Neuquen Province, Argentina. This important event included GLOBE community members from Argentina, Uruguay and Peru and aimed to train more teachers and students in GLOBE hydrology, atmosphere and land cover protocols.  >>

The Omar Dengo Foundation (FOD), the entity responsible for the implementation of the GLOBE Program in Costa Rica, has supported GLOBE implementation of integrated public schools participating in the Costa Rica National Educational Informatics Program (PRONIE MEP -FOD) through Science Clubs. Great importance is placed on this initiative as it provides GLOBE students between the ages of 12 and 17 with opportunities to use their extracurricular time productively.  >>

At the 2012 LAC Regional Meeting in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, a new collaboration was created, allowing students from three different countries to connect and share foods from their respective countries. GLOBE Country Coordinator for the Dominican Republic, Ms. Lorraine de Ruiz-Alma, and Peruvian Master Trainer Ms. Claudia Caro, organized the regional Food Project by extending the invitation to teachers from Cuzco, Peru; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Ushuaia, Argentina. Students were asked to study plants and foods that are indigenous to their countries and share their findings through a Skype conference with their peers in a different country.  >>

Madagascar recently celebrated its 15th Anniversary with the GLOBE Program at a national teacher training event. Organized by the national environmental organization, "National Action for Education for Sustainable Development" (ANEDD), 25 participants attended the event. In addition to the celebration, the day was comprised of various presentations and brainstorming for ideas to help increase student involvement in environmental studies.  >>

Saudi Arabia joined GLOBE in 2002 and was implemented into boys schools across the country. In 2011, GLOBE implementaion expanded to 24 Saudi girls schools in 12 educational districts; and in 2012 this number increased to 43 active schools at 22 educational districts. Al-Kharj is one of the 12 educational districts that implemented GLOBE in two girls schools in 2011: Al-Hayathem Intermediate and Secondary Girls School and the 9th Secondary Girls School.  >>

Our Lady of the Lake University, Crestview Elementary, and Carnahan Elementary are collaborating with local city government and the river authority to conduct GLOBE protocols measurements and report on atmospheric and land cover observations as part of a long-term study with the Smithsonian Institute's Tree Banding Project. Formally named "SHOUT," the tree-banding project is an educational outreach program that will collect the reported data over the next three to four years.  >>

GLOBE Uruguay organized an important GLOBE Teacher Training Workshop in Montevideo on 26-27 October 2012. Held in both the Alianza Cultural Uruguay—Estados Unidos, and Colonia de Vacaciones de Malvin, 23 teachers attended from all over the country, representing the following departments: Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Maldonado, Montevideo, Río Negro, Salto, Soriano, and Tacuarembó. Invitations were sent to departments with current GLOBE schools as well as departments where GLOBE schools are not yet established.  >>

Twenty-six hardworking and spirited educators from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay participated in a week-long field course in Costa Rica in June 2012 led by Ecology Project International (EPI), a U.S.-based non-profit education organization. The field experience, part of the Second Annual Latin American Educator's Academy, was integrated with a GLOBE teacher training workshop in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.  >>

In 2012, the Czech Republic held its 15th Annual GLOBE Games. The event took place in the picturesque town of Litomyšl, Czech Republic and was hosted by GLOBE Partner organization the TEREZA Association, along with Gymnázium Aloise Jiráska (the Grammar School) in Litomyšl. The theme of this year's Games was "We Have Been Rolling It Together for 15 Years."  >>

Approximately one year after its beginning, the second phase of the Tree Ring Project commenced with a workshop held on 19-22 September in Pisek, Czech Republic. Sixty five teachers and principals attended from 24 schools including ten from Norway, eight from Croatia and six from the Czech Republic. The Tree Ring Project began in 2011 as a part of the GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign. Schools in Croatia, Czech Republic, and Norway are working together with scientists over a two-year period to study tree rings and learn how to extract climatic information from these markings.  >>