Above: Photos from 5th and 6th grade education program at Storm Peak Lab

Introduction

The overall goal of the SPL 5th and 6th grade weather and climate program is to inspire local students with science, while teaching them skills needed for success.  We encourage the students to be lifelong learners in science and gain an understanding of the methodology of science, rather than factual recall. Specific objectives of the program include the following:

1. Implement a weather and climate curriculum that teaches skills required by Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP).
2. Provide a hands-on, place-based educational experience where students have an opportunity to use scientific equipment (e.g., thermometers, anemometers, condensation particles counters, and barometers).
3. Provide a three-day program consisting of an introduction, field experience, and follow-up to help students grasp concepts and apply them to other school studies.
4. Provide all participating students with understanding of climate, weather, and climate change.

Currently, approximately 250 students annually participate in the SPL 5th and 6th grade weather and climate education program. SPL’s director, Dr. Hallar, and site manager, Ian McCubbin, initiated the climate and weather program in 2006, with two schools. Due to the overwhelming response of the community (including newspaper articles; messages and letters from administrators, parents, and teachers), we decided to continue the program. In 2007, Dr. Hallar and Ms. Jenn Wright designed the current curriculum.

Read articles about the program in the Steamboat Pilot & Today:

• Science lesson hits new heights
• Young scientists explore the sky
• A lesson in climate control

Program

The SPL program now includes five schools and is a three day event for each school.  During the first day, educators and a SPL scientist visit each classroom for two hours to introduce concepts of climate, weather and the science of climate change as well as teach students how to use scientific equipment. During the field program on the second day, students measure and record information about temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed, and particle concentration while they travel to SPL via the gondola (in winter) or SUVs (in fall). Once at the laboratory, students meet with SPL scientists to tour the facility, discuss SPL research activities, and explore application of these activities to their curriculum.  At the end of the day, each student has completed a data sheet. Following the field trip, Yampatika educators and/or SPL scientists visit the school for a follow-up to help students grasp concepts, represent their collected data set in a graphical format, answer questions, and evaluate learning.

In the short-term, we expect students will learn how to take and record measurements as well as graph and interpret data, which directly align with skills required by CSAP.

Finally, students work during the program in small groups (both at school and SPL) of four students with one mentor. These groups communicate both before and after the SPL field course, participate in the entire scientific process together (i.e., creating a hypothesis, gathering data, and analyzing data).