NOAA Supports Top Honor in Government Communicators Competition
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) received a first place this year at the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil/Gold Screen Awards competition for their California State Fair exhibit, "Climate Change and California's Water." This prize-winning display included NOAA's crowd-pleasing Science On a Sphere® (SOS) as well as support from scientists of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and the National Weather Service.
SOS was the striking centerpiece of the climate-change exhibit that was at the heart of the fair's environmental expo. NOAA staff teamed with DWR to create components of the exhibit and train presenters for hourly shows illuminating NOAA science. New content for SOS on water resource-related issues was developed with NOAA's Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT) program. HMT funding was responsible for bringing SOS and NOAA scientists to staff the exhibit.
DWR had hoped the sphere would draw people to its other displays that conveyed how global warming affects water supply, and what measures can be taken to conserve water. Not only does this award confirm DWR's success, but the display was also the number one attraction during the run of the 2007 California State Fair (August 17-September 3) when it was covered extensively by the media.
NAGC is a network of communications professionals from federal, state, and local agencies. The competition judges communication products on their impact, creativity, and cost effectiveness. Six hundred entries were submitted in a variety of categories for this year's competition.
SOS is a high-impact outreach tool that reached hundreds of thousands of people at this particular event. Such opportunities educate the public on our research and regional efforts to improve availability and quality of climate, weather, and water information. This activity also serves to solidify a "One-NOAA" effort through cross-line office outreach and supports an important NOAA stakeholder in DWR.
Contact information
Name: William Bendel
Tel: 303-497-6708
William.B.Bendel@noaa.gov