Stars and STEM Stories

Earth's climate is changing, with thawing glaciers and melting of the sea ice shrinking at rates that are occurring far quicker than climate models have predicted. A growing body of knowledge indicates that the warming of the air near the surface and the melting of the ice are due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases such as CO2 in our atmosphere.  >>

The Denver / Ulanbataar Sister Cities school collaboration project was begun in 2005 to establish an educational and cultural exchange between high school students in Colorado and Mongolia. The organization paired Denver Center for International Studies in Denver and Tuba City Boarding School in Tuba City, Arizona, with Ireedui Tsogtsolbor (Future Complex) in Ulanbataar and Erdmiin Dalai Tsogtsolbor (Ocean Knowledge Complex) in Mandalgovi, Mongolia. Each of the four schools established a student club to learn about the other's culture, history and geography, and focused on establishing communication between the schools so that students could interact online.  >>

The regional meeting of the GLOBE Africa Consortium (GAC) was held 20-21 June 2008 at the Newlands Hotel Conference Center, Cape Town, South Africa. Ten countries participated in the meeting, including Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Mrs. Margaret Besong, Cameroon, and Mr. Mark Brettenny, South Africa, presided over the meeting. Madame Ngossi Fall Bousso, Senegal, recorded the minutes of the Meeting in French, and Ms. Helen Agebesong, Cameroon, recorded the minutes of the meeting in English. Ms. Alidjennatou Emmanuel, Benin, provided French translation as necessary throughout the proceedings.  >>

On a sunny Saturday in January, sixteen high school students gathered in a wooded area behind the campus of the University of Southern Maine. Lead by two foresters from the Maine Forest Service, these young men and women were on their first field exploration using GLOBE protocols as part of The Eastern Alliance for Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (EAST) Field Science Institute. EAST promotes the participation of individuals with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics academic programs and careers through funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. EAST works in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.  >>

Students of the Max-Planck School in Kiel, Germany, entered the GLOBE community relatively quietly, but just one year after joining, they happily found themselves involved in the program at a level they had not anticipated. In 2006, the school became part of the pilot project "Global Climate Exchange Education for School Children" between Germany, Cameroon and Estonia.  >>

The GLOBE Program's extensive database and growing global community provide a unique capacity to increase scientific understanding and collaboration across national and cultural boundaries. The value of the GLOBE Program is enhanced by its partnerships with more than 40 regional and worldwide organizations with aims and interests similar to those of GLOBE. These partnerships contribute to the development of resources and support for the GLOBE Program in areas of mutual interest. The U.S. Peace Corps is one such agency that has a long and rich history of international service and has worked in partnership with GLOBE since the early days of the GLOBE program.  >>

The fourth GLOBE Europe Regional Consortium meeting took place in Warsaw, Poland, on 17-20 April 2008. With over 60 participants from 16 countries in attendance, the focus was on past and future activities of GLOBE Europe.  >>

Forty Costa Rican educators and four West Virginia Trainers participated in a four-day Introduction to GLOBE's Atmosphere, Hydrology, and GIS protocols near Cartago, Costa Rica, on 16-19 April 2008. The event was sponsored locally by the Omar Dengo Foundation (ODF) which coordinates GLOBE in Costa Rica and the Integrated Design for Geoscience Education (IDGE) program funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  >>

On 22 April 2008, GLOBE students, teachers and community members around the world celebrated Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated on 22 April 1970. Now, almost thirty years later, more than 500 million people living in 175 countries observe this day dedicated to galvanizing efforts to mobilize people, governments, and corporations to take responsibility for a clean and healthy environment.  >>

The National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) has been hosting Conferences on Science Education since 1952 with an overarching goal to provide educators with the latest in science content, teaching strategies, and research to enhance and expand their professional growth. GLOBE once again had a strong presence at the annual NSTA Conference on Science Education on 27 – 30 March 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts.  >>