Educational Resources

Lesson Plans

• Spectacles! Of a Different Color!: An introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Clouds in a Bottle: investigte how clouds form.

• An Alien Point of View: view the world at other wavelengths.
• What's your current direction? Observe how heat, density and viscosity influence the flow of liquids and the atmosphere.
• Light Beams: discover how light is used to measure the atmosphere.
• Getting a charge out of Life: find out how clouds generate electricity and lightning.

• How to see where you can't be, an introduction to remote sensing.

Posters

• A Tale of Ups and Downs (pdf): - understanding the behavior of liquids can help us understand how the atmosphere works.
• More than Meets the Eye (pdf): how multispectral imaging helps us "see" the environment in new ways.
• What is Lightning (pdf): and how to make your own.
• How to Spy on Stuff you Can't Touch (pdf): remote sensing helps us study weather, climate and air pollution.

Publications

• Hazardous Mountain Winds and Their Visual Indicators Part 1/6: U.S. Department of Transportation advisory circular, AC 00-57, containing information on hazardous mountain winds and their effects on flight operations near mountain regions.
  Part 1 (3Mb): 2 (6Mb): 3 (5Mb): 4 (15Mb): 5 (12Mb): 6 (5Mb)

Science Topics

• Clouds and Climate: Find out how clouds play a vital role in climate by regulating the Earth's energy balance.
• Convection: the secret behind intricate cloud patterns and thunderstorms.
• Glitter: how "glitter" can improve weather observations over the ocean.
• Passive Remote Sensing: [Flash] Understanding our world through reflected and emitted energy.
• Raman Scatting: A simple way to change the color of a laser.