Linking Undergraduate Education to Service and Outreach: Twenty Years of Hands-On Outreach and Fun at Valparaiso University MET Field Day

In spring 2000, the Valparaiso University chapter of Chi Epsilon Pi, the national meteorology honor society, hosted MET Field Day. Area schools were invited to the university for hands on demonstrations in meteorology, tours of the forecasting center, and viewings of storm chase videos. All demonstrations were hosted by meteorology majors (undergraduates). Within three years, busloads of elementary and middle-school children arrived and inundated the student union to capacity.

Twenty years later MET Field Day continues as a student-led initiative. This long history of service engages meteorology majors of all levels. While Chi Epsilon Pi continues to sponsor the event, nearly every meteorology major contributes their time and energy. The event draws hundreds of area school children annually. Meteorology majors are proud of this event and their impact on the community. The outreach continues throughout the year with school and library visits to schools not able to attend in spring.

After 20 years, experience helps with logistics. The department Administrative Assistant coordinates invitations and responses, and schedules arrivals and departures. Meteorology majors create the demonstration tables, striving each year to improve on the last. Demonstrations include a wide variety of meteorology phenomena and science principles. Severe weather, lightning and tornadoes are demonstrated with a van der Graff generator and a tornado machine. Pressure, wind, vorticity and Bernouilli’s Principle with a hair dryer and ping pong balls, as well as a fog machine and a Ka-Boom vortex creator. Our staff meteorologist works with the meteorology majors to ensure everything operates properly.

Knowledge becomes outreach for the meteorology majors during MET Field Day. Their passion becomes service as they share their love for the atmosphere and the science behind the atmosphere with future scientists. The MET Field Day history, logistics, demonstrations, and value to the participants and presenters will be shared in the presentation.