Exploring Earth: Investigating Clouds

TYPE: Educational Resources
AUDIENCE: Ages 7 - Adult
TOPIC: Earth and Space Science
In this activity, learners create a cloud in a bottle and explore it with laser light.
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DESCRIPTION

"Exploring Earth: Investigating Clouds" is a hands-on activity in which visitors create a cloud in a bottle and explore it with laser light. The activity is connected to current and ongoing NASA mission research. Participants learn about ways that NASA uses satellite technology to observe clouds from above and explore ways that ground-based data, including some generated through citizen science projects like the GLOBE Observer app, are also used to study Earth’s cloud cover from below.

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  • A group of learners observing a cloud that was made in a plastic bottle
  • A learner and facilitator use a laser to observe a cloud made in a bottle
  • Learners and Facilitator pressurizing a water bottle to make a cloud
  • a family of learners use a laser to better see a cloud they made in a bottle
  • Three learners watch a cloud form in a bottle
  • Three learners watch a laser being shinned through a cloud in a bottle with a leading facilitator
  • A group of learners observing a cloud that was made in a plastic bottle
  • A learner and facilitator use a laser to observe a cloud made in a bottle
  • Learners and Facilitator pressurizing a water bottle to make a cloud
  • a family of learners use a laser to better see a cloud they made in a bottle
  • Three learners watch a cloud form in a bottle
  • Three learners watch a laser being shinned through a cloud in a bottle with a leading facilitator

DESCRIPTION

"Exploring Earth: Investigating Clouds" is a hands-on activity in which visitors create a cloud in a bottle and explore it with laser light. The activity is connected to current and ongoing NASA mission research. Participants learn about ways that NASA uses satellite technology to observe clouds from above and explore ways that ground-based data, including some generated through citizen science projects like the GLOBE Observer app, are also used to study Earth’s cloud cover from below.

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TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

NASA studies clouds to learn more about Earth's changing climate. We can study clouds both from the ground and by using space-based instruments.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Clouds influence Earth’s weather and climate.

  • Clouds form when individual water molecules combine into droplets.

  • NASA researchers study clouds in order to better understand and predict how Earth’s climate is changing.

  • Particular to the information sheet, worksheet, and Globe postcard: Citizen science programs collect and share the data with researchers that collaborate with NASA.

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TYPE:
Educational Resources
AUDIENCE:
Ages 7 - Adult
LANGUAGES:
English Spanish
ADDITIONAL TOPICS: Earth and Space Science Climate and Weather Water and Oceans Atmosphere Societal Topics Science and Society Sustainability
KIT: Explore Science: Earth & space logo Browse kit
KEYWORDS:

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2017
PROJECT
OWNING INSTITUTION

The Science Museum of Minnesota

FUNDING

This material is based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC67A. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.