A Model for Enhancing Awareness through Collaborative Education Programs

As a result of the extremely successful national AMS Educational Initiative, The DataStreme Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, a Local Implementation Team (LIT) for the project was formed in the Delaware Valley. The DataStreme Project is a pre-college program that introduces applications of real time weather in the classroom. The LIT will continue it's efforts in the Fall 2001 to offer the new AMS Education Initiative, "Water in the Earth System" (WES). This at first "professional" partnership has evolved, it has developed into a close personal and working relationship among the members, and has presented new opportunities for collaboration and leadership in the atmospheric sciences.

At the Franklin Institute, Dr. Jon Nese enhances public awareness through interactive museum exhibits, maintaining weather observations, and presentations to visitors (especially school groups) throughout the year. In addition and in conjunction with the Broadcast Meteorologists of the “EarthWatch Team” (NBC10), Jon is joined for presentations at the museum each Wednesday to conduct "Weather Workshops". The Franklin Institute and NBC10 have demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing public awareness and the science of Meteorology.

At NBC10, Kathy Orr and John Moore, have collaborated to introduce the Global Learning and Observations to Better the Environment (GLOBE) School observations to the NBC10 website. The new program provides a forum for GLOBE teachers, trained in scientific protocol, and students throughout the region to make and report atmospheric observations to the NBC10 website, creating a regional observation network. This is of particular value in severe weather, and during winter storms where conditions vary greatly throughout forecasting region, and there are no electronic means to observe and report such data. The data then is forwarded to the local National Weather Service Forecast Office for their advisement. This project, the first in the international GLOBE Program, is supported by the Mt. Holly NWSFO, NBC10, and the GLOBE Program in Washington DC. In addition, Channel 10 hosts the local “WeatherNet” with over 60 schools now on-line.

Robert Wanton is the Educational Outreach Director for the Mt. Holly NWSFO. Each year Bob speaks to school and civic groups on a variety of topics including severe weather awareness/safety, careers in Meteorology, and demonstrates meteorological concepts and principles. This year Bob has completed 85 presentations, and since 1985 has spoken to over 60,000 people in the Delaware Valley. Weather concepts, career orientation, and emergency preparations are discussed.

John Moore is a Teacher of Environmental Studies at the Burlington County Institute of Technology. The Environmental Studies Program (grades 9-12) is a project-based career major. Through the GLOBE Program, John moderates an international collaborative project called "GLOBE WeatherWatchers: Observing the Earth System." John is an Atmospheric Education Resource Agent (AERA) for the AMS and conducts numerous professional development workshops through the AMS Project Atmosphere Program.

The result has been an exchange of ideas and curriculum enhancement throughout the Delaware Valley. The public's weather awareness in the WCAU NBC10 viewing area has been dramatically impacted and better informed to understand weather phenomena.