Stars and STEM Stories

During December 4-12, over 70 individuals from 6 countries attended a GLOBE Train-the-Trainer Workshop in Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Ministry of Education graciously hosted the workshop with the support of the U.S. Embassy. Mrs. Zakeya Ali Ahmed, Bahrain Country Coordinator, along with a team of GLOBE student volunteers, organized the workshop and made sure that the workshop was a success.  >>

Between August 23 and September 9, Dr. Rebecca Boger, GLOBE Deputy Director for International/U.S. Partnerships and Outreach and International Project Scientist, visited four countries in East Africa - Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia. In each of these countries, Dr. Boger met with numerous representatives of the National Ministries of Education and Environment, United States Embassies, universities, National Meteorological Services, and non-governmental organizations.  >>

The popular song "A little help from my friends" by the Beatles describes how important our friends are to us, and it nicely captures GLOBE's philosophy of exploring new frontiers hand-in-hand with a hugely diverse group of partners.  >>

GLOBE Kazakhstan, the U.S. Peace Corps, ExxonMobil, and the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan were pleased to host a GLOBE teacher training workshop in the Almatinskii National Park outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan. The workshop was held from July 18 -22, and differed from many workshop formats in that the organizing committee was successful in raising funds to fully support the costs of the workshop including travel, room and board, and an intermediate GLOBE kit for all teachers. In addition, U.S. Peace Corps volunteers were paired with one or two teachers from their villages.  >>

From July 5 -13, GLOBE and UNESCO jointly sponsored a Train-the-Trainer workshop on the shores of Lake Baikal, Russia. The workshop was located in the village of Goryachinsk, about 4 hours from the Buryat capital of Ulan Ude on the eastern side of Lake Baikal. Participants arrived from both the eastern and western sides of the lake, and even included the Country Coordinator for Liechtenstein (Europe) and three South Korean teachers, who made the long journey to this beautiful, yet remote, site.  >>

Collecting Earth science data is only part of what GLOBE teacher Rafat Jambi and his students do together at Hamzah High School, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On June 8th, 2004 they observed the transit of Venus. It began at 5:22 UT (or 8:22 AM. local time). "By using the eclipser provided by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology it was very clear to see it as a dot passing through the sun," said Rafat Jambi.  >>

Eagle Scout candidate Greg Colton with Troop 83 from Ft. Collins, Colorado, led the construction effort of building 11 GLOBE instrument shelters which will be donated to local GLOBE schools. Boy Scouts from several Fort Collins troops teamed up on August 21, 2004, at Colorado State University's Atmospheric Science Building on the university's Foothills Campus, to participate in this activity.  >>

Queens College's Dr. Alan Ludman and New York's Con Edison are true "GLOBE Stars" at the center of GLOBE NY's Metro Partnership. Queens College is the GLOBE Partner for southern New York State, responsible for introducing and supporting GLOBE in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and southern Westchester counties.  >>

Mexican school teachers and scientists from Arizona, USA, met in the Sonora Desert in Mexico, at the Universidad de la Sierra (U. Sierra) Workshop in which the Spring Soil Moisture Campaign (SMC) was showcased. The goal of the SMC data collection effort is for teachers and students to collect near-surface soil moisture data twice annually within two nine-day field campaigns that are tied to Earth Science Week (Oct. 9-17, 2004) and the week surrounding Earth Day (Apr. 22-30, 2005).  >>

When the fifth grade Kittrell Elementary School students went to the weather box to record their data one Monday morning in April, they found the weather box had been damaged and their new digital thermometer had been stolen. They were very upset, because they had been faithfully recording their data all winter. Now, just as they were planning to compare bud burst with temperatures, they had lost an important piece of equipment.  >>