School Visits and New Kiosk Promote Science Education at ARM Darwin Site

 
Published: 15 February 2006

Titled "Climate Change: Science and Traditional Knowledge," ARM's latest education kiosk is now on permanent display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin.

A handful of ARM scientists involved in the Tropical Warm Pool – International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) field campaign took time out from their research for a very important purposeā€”to talk to students about climate change. During the week of February 6, they accompanied ARM Education and Outreach (EO) staff to Darwin area schools as a preview to the new interactive climate education kiosk recently installed at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin. Six separate classes were involved, and younger students received stickers and ARM activity books with puzzles, coloring pages, and mazes. All teachers were given packets with ARM lesson plans, newsletters, and a copy of the kiosk program on DVD. Only two weeks into the Australian school year, the presentations provided useful information for students who will do research projects on weather and climate later in the year.

To kick off each visit, ARM EO staff gave an introduction to the ARM Program and provided information about climate education resources in their area. This was followed with a presentation about clouds, radiosondes, solar radiation, TWP-ICE, ARM instruments, and the ARM Data archive by ARM scientists and graduate students involved in the field campaign. A highlight of the school visits was a trip to Woolaning School, a remote school about an hour from Darwin.

Lis Cohen, a grad student from the University of Utah participating in the TWP-ICE experiment, talks about weather and climate with kids at Woolaning School.

Aboriginal students ranging in age from 5 to 9 years old listened to a presentation about the water cycle, clouds, and satellites before heading outside to identify the current cloud conditions. After the presentation, students drew colorful pictures illustrating the water cycle. Also, an elder from the Aboriginal community presented a beautiful painting about the changing wet and dry seasons in Darwin, and one of the younger students read a story to go along with the painting. The art work was on display at the museum after the ARM kiosk opening ceremony the following week.