NEW! Aerosols and Sky Color GLOBE Elementary Storybook

The GLOBE Program began in 1994 with the mission “to promote the teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and stewardship, and promote science discovery.” The Elementary GLOBE storybook series extends that mission to engage K-4 students and introduce them to key science concepts; Earth Systems, Clouds, Soils, Seasons, Water, and now, Aerosols. NASA Langley Research Center has collaborated with the GLOBE Program to produce the newest Elementary GLOBE storybook, “What's Up in the Atmosphere? Exploring Colors in the Sky”. Through Earth observing missions, such as CALIPSO and SAGE, NASA has been observing aerosols from space for the past 40 years. As a key aspect of sky conditions and atmospheric studies; this storybook is an easy way to introduce the concept of aerosols and their impacts in the classroom. Each science-based storybook is accompanied by a set of learning activities. Existing NASA mission activities have been collected and revised to introduce students to the definition of aerosols and sky conditions, including sky color and visibility, to engage in active observations and recording skills, and to collect, interpret, and analyze data. Through the storybook and activities students become more interested in their environment, are encouraged to observe and ask questions about sky color, and are introduced to the concept of aerosols and why it's important to understand the air we breathe. This presentation will introduce the newest Elementary GLOBE book for the first time to the broader science community through an overview of the content and related learning activities. It will also share implementation and training strategies for making use of this freely available resource from a growing community of practice that has begun using the book.