Climate and Weather: The Two Go Together
Girl Scouts at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research
Rebecca Anderson & Andrea Sealy
Kristen L. Corbosiero, Vani Cheruvu,
Yaga Richter, Christine Johnson and
Teri Eastburn
Goals:
1. To introduce young women
to the atmospheric sciences
in a single sex, noncompetitive, hands-on and
inquiry-based environment.
2. To show young women that female
scientists are normal people, with families
and hobbies, who are researching relevant
and exciting environmental problems.
The program was developed
by two postdoctoral fellows in
the Advanced Studies
Program (ASP) at NCAR in
cooperation with the
Mile Hi Girl Scouts council.
The program brings 50 girls
from around the Denver area
to the NCAR Mesa Lab in
Boulder each spring and fall.
The girls tour the exhibits and
computer lab, walk the nature
trail and participate in
hands-on activities.
The first activity of the
day, and one of the day’s
highlights, is a live
weather balloon launch
conducted by
Kate Young of NCAR’s
Earth Observing
Laboratory.
The girls learn see a
live feed of data
being collected in the
atmosphere and
learn how it is used
to help make better
weather forecasts.
Other morning activities include:
a) a water cycle game
b) NCAR computer lab tour
c) a keynote talk by a
female scientist about her
research and how she
became interested in
science.
The afternoon activities
are focused around a 50
page, full-color
workbook designed by
the NCAR postdocs
organizing the event.
The workbooks are free
of charge to the Girl
Scouts as they are
generously paid for by
the Advanced Studies
Program at NCAR.
The workbook contains
instructions for the hands-on
activities the girls will
participate in during the
afternoon, as well as a
number of experiments they
can try at home.
The workbook also contains information on weather and
climate, and links to web pages where the girls can get more
information on science and technology.
At the end of the
workbook are photos
and biographies of the
NCAR volunteers the
girls have interacted
with during the day.
Sometimes the girls
even ask for the
volunteers for their
autographs at the end
of the day!
Thanks to generous
funding from the ASP
office, many female
(and a few male)
volunteer scientists
and NCAR staff and
assistance from the
NCAR Education &
Outreach office,
over 200 girls have
visited NCAR and
participated in the
GS@NCAR event!
The 6th GS@NCAR
event, held this past
September, marked the
completion of the 3rd
year of events under
the 3rd generation of
leadership.
We are now looking for
new leadership to
organize the next event
for the spring of 2008.
Please visit the GS@NCAR
website for details:
www.asp.ucar.edu/gswebsite
Other E&O
Opportunities
http://eo.ucar.edu/
ASP Science Kits
• Designed by ASP postdocsportable, hands-on
demonstrations outside of
NCAR
• Used for schools, church
groups, retirement
communities, etc.
• Density tank, Why we have
seasons, Crushing cans,
Clouds in a Jar and The
Board of Chaos
UCAR/E&O activities
• UCAR E&O booth
– demonstrations at various
public activities (festivals,
career fairs)
• Ice Fest, CU-Boulder
March 8-11 2007
– Celebrating beginning of
International Polar Year (IPY)
– wide variety of activities
around the theme of ice and
snow, polar research and
climate studies
• Taste of Colorado, Denver
Labor Day weekend
(Photos courtesy of Ilan Kelman)
SOARS mentoring
• Significant Opportunities in
Atmospheric Research and
Science
• an undergraduate-to-graduate
bridge program designed to
broaden participation in the
atmospheric and related
sciences
• seeks to involve more students
from groups that are historically
under-represented in the
sciences, including Black or
African-American, American
Indian or Alaska Native,
Hispanic or Latino, female, firstgeneration college students, and
students with disabilities
• Mentors: research,
communication and writing,
community
(Photos courtesy of Bob Henson and Rebecca Haacker-Santos)