The purpose of this activity is to measure air (and optionally soil) temperature within one hour of solar noon and the maximum and minimum air temperatures for the previous 24 hours. Intended outcomes are that students will learn to read minimum, maximum, and current temperatures using a U-shaped thermometer, understand diurnal and annual temperature variations, and recognize factors that influence ... Full description.

The purpose of this activity is to measure surface temperature with a handheld Infrared Thermometer (IRT). The instrument is pointed at the ground to take surface temperature readings. Intended outcomes are that students will learn to use an infrared thermometer, and understand how different surfaces radiate energy. Supporting background materials for both student and teacher are included. Full description.

In this activity students observe and sketch clouds, describing their forms. They initially generate descriptions of a personal nature and then move toward building a more scientific vocabulary. They then correlate their descriptions with the standard classifications using the ten cloud types identified for GLOBE. Each student develops a personal cloud booklet to be used in conjunction with the GLOBE ... Full description.

The purpose of this activity is to build an instrument that can be used to measure water temperature. Students construct a soda-bottle thermometer, which is similar to the thermometer used by GLOBE schools. Both are based on the principle that most substances expand and contract as their temperature changes. This experiment also demonstrates the principle of heat transfer. The intended outcome is ... Full description.

The purpose of this activity is to help students better understand percent cloud cover and to take more accurate cloud cover observations. Working in pairs or small groups, students use construction paper to simulate cloud cover. They estimate the percentage of cloud cover represented by torn pieces of paper on a contrasting background and assign a cloud cover classification to the simulations created ... Full description.

This resource provides instructions on how to log atmosphere data using a Davis weather station. A weather station is setup to measure and record atmospheric measurements at 15-minute intervals and can be transferred to the GLOBE program via email. Students can view data for their school that are continuous and show variations within a day. The data collected includes wind speed and direction and ... Full description.

This resource provides guidance on site selection for the GLOBE Atmosphere data collection protocols. Instructions for building an instrument shelter, a snowboard, an ozone measurement station, and a wind direction instrument are included. Full description.

The purpose of this activity is to measure ozone concentrations at ground level. Students deploy a strip of paper that changes color in the presence of ozone. They use an ozone reader to determine the amount of ozone in ppb as indicated by the color change of the paper strip. Intended outcomes are that students will learn to measure the concentrations of ground-level ozone in the atmosphere and to ... Full description.

The purpose of this activity is to construct a model that will provide students with a visual representation of parts per billion. Students work in teams to construct cubes of different volumes and to compare them to get a feel for parts per million by volume and parts per billion by volume. The intended outcome is that students gain a feeling for the small quantities of gases, such as ozone, present ... Full description.

In this activity students construct a sundial and use it to observe the movement of the sun through the sky over the course of a day by marking changes in the position of a shadow once each hour. Students determine the approximate time of solar noon at their school as indicated by the time of the shortest shadow. They revisit the site on a subsequent day to estimate the time of day using their sundial. ... Full description.