The Oklahoma Mesonet Science Fair is held annually in the Sarkeys Energy Center on the University of Oklahoma campus. Elementary through high school students from Oklahoma and Kansas compete in the following areas of meteorology and meteorology related sciences: Agriculture and Biology, Behavioral Sciences, Climatology, Forecasting, Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Moisture, Soil Temperature, Solar Radiation, Standard Weather Parameters, Technology and Economics and Weather Systems. All projects must use Mesonet data.
The Mesonet Science Fair began in 1992 and in 1996 added a Weather Quiz Bowl. The fair offers students an opportunity to present their
understanding of meteorology concepts and to display data that have been gathered from the Mesonet system. These data have been charted, graphed and analyzed by the students. Some of the students present problems that examine cause-and-effect relationships. One of those projects investigated the relationship between soil type, soil moisture and secondary rain events. Other student projects could be categorized as applied meteorology. Examples of those include: "What Color Can I Wear?", "Air Pressure and Student Behavior", and "Coldest Place in Oklahoma".
This poster will highlight the different areas of meteorological research in elementary through high school. Individual students projects and conclusions will be shown. Each of the projects will use Mesonet data.
References
McPherson, R. and Crawford, K., 1996: The EARTHSTORM Project: How K-12 Teachers Can Incorporate the Latest Technology into the Classroom: Bull. American Meteror. Soc., 77(4), 749-761.