News - United States of America
2022 NARM at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio
Contributed by Jodi Haney, GLOBE Partner at Xcite Learning / NWO @BGSU / The Toledo Zoo
Midwest partners from GLOBE Mission Earth, AREN, and Prairie Project joined forces to host “From Midwestern Prairies to City Centers: GLOBE Student Research to Better Our Region’s Environment” at The Toledo Zoo on 7 and 8 November 2022 as part of the GLOBE North American Regional Meeting (NARM). Area teachers who participated were provided stipends to cover the cost of their substitute teachers as well as GLOBE equipment and materials to take back to their classrooms!
The GLOBE Training included:
- GLOBE in the Prairie. How do local prairies in the Midwestern Region provide ideal environments for prairie inhabitants and act as water quality and climate resilience strategies for communities? Lead Presenters were Dr. Jodi Haney, GLOBE Partner and Mitch Magdich, Toledo Zoo Education Curator.
- Studying the Urban Heat Island Effect in Your Area and What You Can Do about It. Participants collected air and surface temperatures and clouds data using the GLOBE Observer App around the Toledo Zoo led by Dr. Kevin Czajkowski (GLOBE Mission Earth). Next, the group moved to using the TerraROVER to collect air and surface temperatures and humidity with Andy Henry and David Bydlowski (AEROKATS & Rovers Education Network Project). Andy and David also introduced the group to AEROKATS (Advancing Earth Research Observations with Kites and Atmospheric/Terrestrial Sensors).
- My NASA Data and Data Literacy Cubes. Angela Rizzi and Desiray Wilson from NASA Langley engaged the participants in looking at NASA data using the Data Cubes. Teachers presented highlights of their GLOBE activities during a dinner conversation café session.
The 26 participants represented the GLOBE U.S. Coordination Office, NASA, Midwest Region GLOBE partners and area teachers. The workshop evaluation revealed a high level of engagement and confidence boosting in regard to utilizing GLOBE protocols and leading student research in the classroom. Participants hoped that the face-to-face NARM opportunities would be available regularly.
Photo captions (top to bottom)
Figure 1: 21 participants and one large crocodile statue pose at the Toledo Zoo
Figure 2: Practicing GLOBE land cover protocols with Project Prarie
Figure 3: 2 participants practice cloud protocols with the GLOBE Observer app on their phones and a printed cloud chart
Figure 4: GLOBE Partner David Bydlowski helps a participant learn to set up the TerraROVER to collect air and surface temperatures and humidity
Figure 5: a participant flies an AEROKAT device on a special kite to collect weather data
Figure 6: GLOBE Partner Desiray Wilson and a participant learn about using My NASA Data
News origin: United States of America