Humans experience weather directly, while climate and climate change can only be understood through the lens of data. The NASA earth systems science mission produces a array of data products. Our…

This federal contract award was made to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), a non-profit research organization in Portland, Maine. The $17,801,400.00 cooperative agreement, titled "Real World, Real Science: Using NASA Data to Explore Weather and Climate," will create interactive educational experiences that allow students and teachers to explore weather, climate, and related science and math concepts using NASA Earth science data products. The project will leverage powerful data visualization and content management technologies to deliver locally-relevant climate investigations designed to engage adolescent learners. This work will be carried out through a combination of informal science learning settings and middle school classroom curriculum. The award is not associated with a set-aside contract vehicle and is funded by a civilian federal agency, likely related to the agency's focus on Earth science and education initiatives.

Humans experience weather directly, while climate and climate change can only be understood through the lens of data. The NASA earth systems science mission produces a array of data products. Our project, real world, real science: using NASA data to explore weather and climate will bring this data to students and teachers through a set of interactive experiences that allow them to explore weather and climate and the rich array of related science and math concepts. Our project will combine: -powerful, customizable, and localizable data-serving and data-visualization technologies; -compelling real-world climate investigations specifically designed to engage adolescent learners; -science and mathematics curriculum designed to exploit the full potential of weather and climate for substantive student work aligned with national standards; and -coordination among informal and formal learning settings to amplify impact. Understanding the difference between weather and climate requires examination of data through time and space. The educational experiences will be built upon an API that allows easy access to temperature and temperature anomaly data from three NASA data products: merra, MUR SST, and gisstemp. The API will be accessed through a data visualization toolkit to allow interactive exploration of maps and time series. A cloud-based content-management system will allow rapid creation of customized learning experiences that embed the data within locally-relevant stories. This project will leverage the natural draw of extremes to create relevant contexts where math and science concepts can come to life. The first set of learning experiences will be delivered in informal science learning settings. The out-of-class experience will be complemented by a content-focused, data-rich curriculum collection for middle school classrooms that connects the weather-to-climate experience to related science topics from the statistics of climate data to the physics of climate change and to applications in ecology. We will support the use of these modules in the class room through teach professional development. This will allow teachers to build their knowledge of science and math, a critical national need at the middle-school level. This data-intensive approach is responsive to the new emphasis on statistical reasoning highlighted in the common core state standards for middle-level mathematics (CCSS-M) and next generation science standards (NGSS). This suite of NASA data-powered learning products creates powerful collaboration between formal and informal education settings that promises to amplify learning gains. To accomplish this ambitious task, we have assembled a program team that includes the leading thinkers in relevant fields: the application of NASA data assets to science research questions (gmri's ocean data products team and NASA collaborators from JPL and gsfc), the development of data literacy in youth (EDC's oceans of data institute), use of games to assess learning (stanford university's aaalabs), teacher professional learning in science content (gmri and EDC), and design of engaging science experiences for youth (gmri, EDC, montshire museum, and maine discovery museum). The team will be complemented by a regional network of collaborating science centers who are eager to BET the first to adopt and localize the rwrs NASA data content and learning materials to serve visiting middle schools, teacher professional learning, and the public. In five years rwrs will provide 15,000 students and their teachers with an opportunity to explore weather and climate through powerful data-enabled learning environments. The long-term reach will include delivering our products to a network of over 100 small/medium science and technology centers around the nation. These institutions annually serve approximately 4.9 million students and their teachers.