Guest post by Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies/GLOBE Observer Team

[photo above] Children estimate cloud cover through this hands-on, arts activity using construction paper: Estimating Cloud Cover: A Simulation (Credit: The GLOBE Program). 

The March STAR Net Webinar series featured NASA resources for library staff to use in their Earth Day programming this spring. If you missed the live event, or would like a refresher, check out the recording of this fast-paced, interactive webinar.

It included a presentation on citizen science with NASA’s GLOBE Observer Clouds by Marilé Colón Robles, NASA GLOBE Clouds Team Lead, and Jessica Taylor, NASA Physical Scientist. In addition to easy-to-understand background on clouds and tips for cloud observing, Marile and Jessica showed ideas for hands-on activities, arts and crafts, and books for story time that will help you make cloud observing part of your library programming whether you’re planning for a special event like Earth Day or ongoing programs.

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/eJ7gSpsp5Gs

Powerpoint Slides:  https://www.starnetlibraries.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Celebrate-60-Years-of-Earth-Observations-with-NASA.pdf

GLOBE Observer App: download at https://observer.globe.gov/about/get-the-app

GLOBE Observer Referral Code: library (all lower case). Please use this referral code when you download the GLOBE Observer app and first register, and be sure to give to your patrons to use. The app and use are completely free. The referral code helps us identify which users learned about the app at a library event!

Programming Resources are included at the bottom of the Earth Day event resource page: https://www.starnetlibraries.org/earth-day/ and include the following.  Have you used any of these resources?  Please help us better serve library staff by adding your reviews and suggestions to these entries in STAR Net’s STEM Activity Clearinghouse!

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About the Author
Theresa Schwerin is Vice President of Education at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), a non-profit organization with the mission to promote understanding of our Earth through science, observations, and education. She leads IGES’s education initiatives including the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative – a partnership between IGES and Earth sciences at three NASA Centers: Goddard, Langley, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory – which is engaging learners in STEM experiences, particularly through GLOBE Observer citizen science. Ms. Schwerin earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and worked in public libraries in Charleston, South Carolina.