EX-Files is a web-based, multi-media educational template under development for use with other education activities at, UCAR/NCAR. The template will provide an interactive interface through which K-12 students, teachers, and the public can explore the many aspects of a scientific field project. It provides a structure that will allow scientists to track, format, and present the full scope of their field project experiences in real-time. It also offers a broad array of educational resources including a glossary, related hands-on activities, and relevant additional readings.

This project is an outcome of a field experience in the 2001 - 2002 international DAWEX field campaign, the Darwin Area Wave EXperiment, that was one of the Equatorial Processes Including Coupling (EPIC) programs investigating whole-atmosphere effects on tropical weather. The first iteration of EX-Files features multi-media attachments for informal and formal atmospheric science instruction. It is comprehensive in that it provides daily journal entries; explanations of the science, imagery, and instruction for conducting similar experiments, along with related links; and "expansion ports" to tailor real-time special projects.

EX-Files offers a web-based virtual field science experience that will include sampling of the data collected, a description of the field techniques, a background of the basic science concepts involved, and unique perspectives on the cultures experienced during a field program. The current design of the EX-Files website is accessible at www.ucar.edu/educ_outreach/k-12.html