Activities - Leitzel Center at the University of New Hampshire
Activities
2022 Highlights
In 2022, the Soil Tent program (a traveling educational exhibit combining hands-on soils science activities and a 10x10 tent with striking murals depicting students’ observations of their local soils) reached 943 K-12 students, 24 educators during professional development, and 810 members of the general public.
NH GLOBE Team, the USDA Forest Service, and the UNH Cooperative Extension held a workshop on the Soil Tent for educators and STEM Docents (June) and Haley Wicklein presented the Soil Tent to educators as a part of a workshop held by the NH Timberland Owners Association (July).
The NH GLOBE Team, a USDA Forest Service representative, and a STEM professional led water quality activities at Maple St. School, Rochester, NH to start on the development of the Water Tent panels with educators and 4th and 5th grade students (October). See image right of student sketching macroinvertebrates.
The NH GLOBE Partnership is a part of a group of UNH researchers that received a $3.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a multi-tiered program that will support New Hampshire middle and high schoolers in learning topics related to STEM. In 2022, Jen Bourgeault co-facilitated an Extended Learning Opportunity for high school students in Manchester, NH using the GLOBE Carbon Cycle materials (October - December).
Haley Wicklein and Alicia Carlson presented as part of the GLOBE Exchange at the GLOBE North American Regional Meeting (November).
2021 Highlights
The NH GLOBE Partnership is a part of a group of UNH researchers that received a $3.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a multi-tiered program that will support New Hampshire middle and high schoolers in learning topics related to STEM. The program will supply enrichment training to teachers and establish a peer mentoring program for students, focusing largely on English learners, students often underrepresented in the STEM field. (December). Read "The Language of STEM."
Set up a soil frost and snow depth data collection site at a local elementary school (November/December). Elizabeth Burakowski worked with first graders at Moharimet School (Madbury, NH) to get started collecting soil frost and snow depth data in their school sugarbush.
Jennifer Bourgeault led a workshop titled 'Environmental Data Collection & Data Literacy through the GLOBE Program' at the Christa McAuliffe Transforming, Teaching, & Technology Conference (November).
Began work with the USDA Forest Service in expanding the work around the GLOBE Soil Tent to water using the Elementary GLOBE book –“Discoveries at Willow Creek.” This project will also involve UNH Cooperative Extension’s STEM Docents who do work throughout-of-school programming (September).
Brought the Soil Tent programming to local elementary schools (October/November). Haley Wicklein, Jennifer Bourgeault, and UNH graduate students Joy O'Brien and Nate Blais explored soil with 4th grade students at Mohariment (Madbury, NH) and Mast Way (Lee, NH) elementary schools. Read about the soil tent program. The Soil Tent is a joint project by the USDA Forest Service, NH GLOBE, and the Northern Arts Alliance.
Haley Wicklein presented as part of the GLOBE Exchange at the GLOBE North American Regional Meeting (October).
Co-facilitated a virtual workshop on the GLOBE Carbon Cycle protocols and activities at the GLOBE Annual Meeting (July). Watch the recorded workshop here.
2020 Highlights
Among key activities this year, Jennifer Bourgeault led training at a two-day Collective Science and Student Stewardship Workshop in January on the topics of the carbon cycle and weather. The event was hosted by the Shelburne Farms GLOBE Partnership in Vermont. In spring and summer, we contributed to the Leitzel Center Resources for Teaching STEM Online document circulated to New Hampshire teachers and parents. In June, we participated in a virtual STEAM day at a local elementary school, highlighting GLOBE cloud activities. And in August, we joined the New England Regional Earth System Science (NERESS) Collaborative as part of the GLOBE and Earth System Science (ESS) Collaboratives initiative.
2019 Highlights
Participated in the UNH STEM Educators Summit (January), leading workshops on Elementary GLOBE and the Question Formulation Technique from the Right Question Institute.
Mentored two GLOBE teachers (one from Old Town High School, Maine and one from Newport Middle School, New Hampshire) and their students in attending the 2019 Student Research Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts where reviewers recognized an Old Town High student’s project as exemplary in Research Process and Use of GLOBE Protocols.
Supported UNH graduate student Eliza Balch in representing the Leitzel Center at a STEAM day at a local elementary school with macro-invertebrates and the GLOBE Water Wonders activity (May).
Hosted Science Camp 2.0 professional development week (June, image left) with funding from an NSF ITEST grant. Participants included 10 teachers from all over New Hampshire. Bourgeault and the
other leaders provided content on pollinators, invasive species, soils, and carbon using materials from GLOBE, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and Project WILD, along with resources from Cooperative Extension and the USDA Forest Service.
Showcased the GLOBE Clouds and Biometry protocols at the family-friendly UNH STEM Day at a UNH football game in November.
2018 Highlights
In May 2018, the Leitzel Center Partnership supported a GLOBE teacher and four students from the Ellis School in Freemont, NH in attending the Student Research Symposium in Buffalo, NY (image left). Their research poster was recognized as exemplary at the event. In June 2018, the Leitzel Center Partnership completed a fourth year of professional development through a Math Science Partnership grant. Bourgeault and the other leaders provided content around Earth Systems using materials from GLOBE, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and Project WILD, along with resources from Cooperative Extension and the USDA Forest Service. The traveling Soil Tent became available to schools and community centers. The 10’x10’ tent was created in partnership with the Leitzel Center GLOBE Partnership, the USDA Forest Service and the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire. It comes with soil murals and hands-on science activities, and encourages science and art teachers to partner together in exploring soil science.
2017 Highlights
In June 2017, the Leitzel Center NH GLOBE Partnership completed Year 3 of a 3-year Math Science Partnership grant which provided 80 hours of professional development throughout the 2016-2017 school year, culminating in a week-long summer workshop. Participants were 30 NH teachers from 5 school districts. Bourgeault and the other leaders provided content on Atmosphere, Weather and Climate and field investigations using GLOBE, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and Project WILD, along with resources from Cooperative Extension and the USDA Forest Service. The collaborators have been awarded a 4th year of funding to provide content around Earth Systems and skills in teacher leadership to build sustainability within their schools.
One of the outcomes of the 3-year MSP funding is an update to the Vertical Science Literacy Scope and Sequence document for three themes, centered around NGSS. This document is available through the NH Project Learning Tree and NH GLOBE Partnership webpages.
In August 2017, Bourgeault, two University of New Hampshire PhD graduate students and a few NHEET representatives observed and recorded measurements using the GLOBE Observer app during the eclipse with the Coe Brown Northwood Academy.