The Young Meteorologist Program supporting the Weather Ready Nation Campaign

The PLAN!T NOW (P!N) organization, international non-profit, has created the Young Meteorologist Program (YMP) an interactive, engaging, free, online game. YMP asks students in elementary, middle and high school to follow the 21st-century National Weather Service Owl, Owlie Skywarn, on an adventure encountering hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, floods, and winter storms. Along the way, players are taught the principles of severe weather science and safety preparedness lessons. Embedded into the game are test questions and activities, which players must answer successfully in order to proceed. The game has been beta-tested with middle school students. The YMP seeks to boost science, math, reading skills, and student achievement by awarding each successful game player a beautifully crafted, printable certificate upon completing the game. Thus, YMP engages students with the weather sciences and encourages them by charting advancements through clear, measurable goals. The Young Meteorologist Program provides opportunities for students to put their newly acquired knowledge to work through launching community service projects to build more resilient storm ready communities, build a weather station, promote NOAA WeatherRadio, and support the NWS Weather Ready Nation campaign. Joining the P!N team are celebrity advocates Kenny Chesney, country music superstar, and Dennis Haysbert, actor and Allstate National Spokesperson, to help grow awareness for P!N and YMP. The motto of YMP and the P!N is: “Disaster Happens When Preparation Doesn't.”