The UCAR Center for Science Education

#Teachers, our free virtual field trips are still available this semester! We drop into your classroom for 30-60 mins to run cloud experiments, talk about STEM careers, or give a 360° virtual tour of the Mesa Lab! Sign up for our award-winning field trips: scied.ucar.edu/visit/virtual-…

Join @ucarscied's teacher professional development team for their Jeff the Yeti for Teaching With SkySci For Kids! The event will be Thursday, January 23, 2025 @ 04:00 PM-05:00 PM (MST). This is an event you won't want to miss! Register today at ➡️ buff.ly/40zkhC9

Did you know a typical #cumulonimbus #cloud can weigh 105.8 MILLION pounds?! Find out how it stay up in the sky with #educators @UCARSciEd as they #explore how the sun affects the #Earth’s weather with an #interactive #experiment. Book today: bit.ly/428DfR1

Yesterday was the latest sunrise of the year! Starting today, sunrises will finally begin getting earlier again. It's a subtle shift but a sure sign that brighter mornings and warmer weather are ahead!

You may be familiar with the water cycle, but that's not the only Earth system cycle🌊 Elemental atoms, like carbon and nitrogen, also cycle between living and non-living things. The same atoms are recycled over and over, known as a biogeochemical cycle. scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/…

🎵Frosty, ol' Mesa Lab🎵 Bring your holiday guests up to learn about @NCAR_Science, and to 🎵laugh and play, just the same as you and me🎵 The Mesa Lab will be open for holiday hours on Dec 25 and Jan 1 from 9am - 4pm, with no noon tour. Plan your visit: scied.ucar.edu/visit/ncar?utm…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a career in STEM? Many people who work at @NCAR_Science are scientists, but just as important are the engineers, administrators, facilities staff, educators and more. Check out our digital trading cards: scied.ucar.edu/explore/career…

Batnado isn't the next spin-off series🦇 It's a unique phenomenon for Texas locals. The Bracken Cave bat colony is so dense that when they awake at night weather radar incorrectly identifies them as a storm! Meteorologists have to adapt their forecasts to account for this event.

🌅Ever wondered how the sky paints itself in stunning colors during sunrise and sunset? It's all about light scattering! Check out our Appearance of the Sky article to learn how tiny molecules create those breathtaking pinks, oranges, and purples 🌇✨scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/…

Sign up for our FREE K-12 newsletter to have a selection of our resources sent to your inbox during the school year! Past newsletters have included Preventing Air Pollution, Exploring Energy Sources, and more. scied.ucar.edu/newsletter?utm…

Raise your hand if the snow yesterday made you excited for winter 🙋 Winter coming means more snow and potentially blizzards! So, what is the difference between a snowstorm and a blizzard? Head to the Learning Zone to find out! scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/…

Explore why geography matters at our next Explorer Series lecture! 🗺️ On Wed., Dec. 4, NSF NCAR scientists Olga Wilhelmi and Jennifer Boehnert will discuss how geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can help scientists understand weather risks. bit.ly/3Z55gWu

With holiday breaks approaching, it's a great time to check out our STEM at Home activities, like these Atmosphere Lanterns! This fun, hands-on activity explores our atmosphere and creates a cool night light! For this activity and more: scied.ucar.edu/stem-at-home?u… 📸: EUREKUS

Family in town and looking for something fun? Come visit the @NCAR_Science Mesa Lab for a free public noon tour on Monday and Wednesday! The Mesa Lab is open all week for self-guided visits, but there will not be a guided tour on Friday. For more info: scied.ucar.edu/visit/ncar-tou…

You may have heard about the bomb cyclone that hit the West Coast earlier this week, but what makes a bomb cyclone? It has to do with a process called bombogenesis! Check out our Animated Atmosphere video to learn how this happens scied.ucar.edu/video/what-mak…

When there is a severe weather event, news outlets carry weather stories in different ways from the daily weather report. Help your students gain media literacy skills with our Weather in the News classroom activity: scied.ucar.edu/activity/weath…

Have you played our games and simulations recently? All of these fun interactives are even more accessible. All actions that previously involved dragging movements now include a point-and-click or keyboard navigation to play. Cheers to including everyone in STEM learning!

While most depictions of raindrops are tear-shaped (like this emoji 💧), they aren't really that shape when they fall! Want to know more? Visit the Learning Zone scied.ucar.edu/video/shape-ra…

Thank you Boulder for another superb Super Science Saturday! We lucked out with perfect weather and got to greet 1,750 of you up at the @NCAR_Science Mesa Lab. We'll be sharing a folder with all the official photos of the event in a few weeks, but for now, enjoy this quick recap!