The SSEC Equity Tech Camp

This presentation will describe the Equity Technology Camp offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) in August 2019 to underrepresented youth in STEM fields. High School students who attended this Day Camp were given instruction on topics that have special resonance at the UW-Madison, the birthplace of Satellite Meteorology. Five High School teachers also attended the debut offering to help evaluate activities and content. Topics included Satellite Meteorology, with satellite data that were investigated using the Satellite Information Familiarization Tool (SIFT) (http://sift.ssec.wisc.edu); Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and RealEarth™ (http://re.ssec.wisc.edu ); SatPy (https://github.com/pytroll/satpy) and programming for satellite data using PyThon; Tornado modelling using supercomputers; and Virtual Reality demos employing Oculus Quest headsets to explore satellite data via WxSats (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/datacenter/wxsats/). These hands-on activities were supplemented by trips to various Tech venues around the UW-Madison Campus. The Camp concluded with a Poster Session presented by the participants, further preparing underrepresented students for college or career tracks. The Presentation will discuss both the activities and the feedback from the High School teachers.