The laurel clark earth camp experience, inspired by columbia space shuttle astronaut, laurel clark, honors her legacy of profound curiosity and concern for our planet. This expansion of existing the…

The laurel clark earth camp experience, inspired by columbia space shuttle astronaut, laurel clark, honors her legacy of profound curiosity and concern for our planet. This expansion of existing the earth camp program is a partnership between the arizona-sonora desert museum, the planetary science institute and arizona project wet at the water resources research center, university of arizona. Teens and teachers who participate in earth camp programs are immersed in the study of water resources on a "powers of 10" framework, from the smallest scale properties of the water molecule, to intermediate scales of water in desert ecosystems, to the global scale of climate change and predicted impacts on the water cycle. Together, teen and teacher participants will apply their knowledge and communicate their results through interactive displays: the power of perspective, using NASA satellite images and data to illustrate regional changes to the water-energy-climate system. Using snapshots of the global view enjoyed by laurel clark, they will learn and teach about the connections between their lives and the changing earth system. The earth camp experience offers a progression of learning from the concrete to the abstract that recognizes that education is a process of preparing learners for the future and helping them engage in meaningful work as well as lifelong pursuits of value. Informal learning opportunities afford the time and space for students to assess the efficacy of their efforts, interpret and evaluate data, RE-examine beliefs and understandings, develop their own scientific inquiry via data collection and analysis, apply their learning through action and communicate their findings. This stem experience will include authentic field and laboratory studies, engaging activities that employ multiple learning modalities, collaborative group work, mathematical thinking skills that contribute to problem solving, applied learning opportunities, and systems thinking that undergirds the creation of solutions. Collaborative learning groups of teens and teachers will immerse themselves in the NASA earth science focus areas of water and energy cycles and climate variability and change. Together the teens and teachers will engage in intergenerational problem solving, informal teaching through exhibits, and community education projects. The earth camp experience is composed of six elements: workshops for informal science educators, summer earth camp programs for teens, teacher earth camp, exhibit design workshop (with traveling poster and on-line exhibits) and earth clubs at schools, all coming together to create a cohort of earth stewards dedicated to education and informed environmental decision-making. The earth camp experience will support NASA's education strategy and framework by: 1. Strengthening the pipeline to the stem workforce: earth camp serves middle and high school students, about 40% of whom come from backgrounds underrepresented in stem disciplines. With NASA funding, we will be able to recruit additional students from underrepresented groups, with a goal of 75% underrepresented students. The new track for middle and high school teachers will also greatly expand the impact of the existing earth camp program. 2. Engaging americans in NASA's mission: the power of perspective interactive display and exhibit will be displayed at the arizona-sonora desert museum (asdm: 450,000 visitors/year), on the asdm website (1 million unique visitors/year), on the arizona project wet web site to reach teachers, and at community sites throughout the region.