News Brief

News 

Here's Your "One-Stop Shop" for the 2017 Annual Meeting in Connecticut, USA

The 21st GLOBE Annual Partner Meeting and Student Field Experience will be held in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, from 30 July through 04 August. The event will be held at the campus of SCSU (Southern Connecticut State University). The theme of the Annual Meeting is: "Coastal Resilience in Urban Environments."
 
The 2017 Annual Meeting will be hosted by GLOBE Partner Dr. Scott Graves (SCSU), in collaboration with the GLOBE Implementation Office. 

• Click here for current information.
• Click here to register and for information on accommodations.

Use #GLOBE21 to follow all of the happenings on social media. 

2017 International Virtual Science Symposium Updates 

Judges Needed to Help Score Student Projects!
 
The 2017 GLOBE International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) is accepting student reports through 03 April. Judges are needed to help score the projects after they have been submitted. If you are a STEM professional, teacher, GLOBE alumni, or a GLOBE community member, please consider helping judge projects. Even one hour of your time would be greatly appreciated!
 
There will be an informational webinar (which will be recorded) on 20 April at 10:00 a.m. MT (12:00 p.m. ET). Judging will need to take place between 23-29 April. (Judging will consist of filling out a Google Form with your scores and feedback for the project.) The link to join the webinar at the time of the meeting is: https://zoom.us/j/621414156
 
Volunteer STEM Professional Needed to Assist Student Researchers!
 
Volunteer STEM professionals are needed to to assist student researchers as they complete their research. Students may have questions about a science topic or the research process in general. (While signing up does not guarantee that you will be contacted, we like to have a list of available volunteers for our students.)
 
If you are interested in participating as a judge and/or as a mentor, please fill out this form. 

Judges will be contacted in late March.
 
IVSS Timeline: 

• Informational Webinar: 19 October 2016
• Rubrics posted: 04 November 2016
• K-4 (Lower Primary) Webinar: 07 December 2016
• Reports accepted for submission: from 03 January 2017 to 03 April 2017
• Reports and presentations due: 03 April 2017
• Informational Webinar for Judges: 20 April 2017 (10:00 a.m. MT/12:00 p.m. ET)
• Judging and comment period: 23 - 29 April 2017
• Scores and badges announced: 15 May 2017

Have questions? Please send them to: help@globe.gov.

Register for 14 March GLOBE ENSO Webinar: "NASA Earth Science Efforts"   

Register today for the GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign webinar: "NASA Earth Science Efforts." The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 14 March, at 8:00 p.m. EST (1:00 a.m. UTC). You can join this webinar by registering here.
 
In this hour-long webinar, participants will hear about NASA's Earth science "Big Questions" and the current missions investigating them. Participants will also hear from a scientist about how they do their research and some of the real-world applications involved, as well as from teachers about how they incorporate information about NASA Earth science missions into their teaching.
 
Throughout the GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign, regular guest blogs from scientists and teachers are being posted. In addition, there is information on the science of ENSO, how to participate in the campaign, analysis tools, numerous resources, and engaging discussion opportunities on the webpage. Keep checking back to discover what's new with Phase II of the campaign!  

Do You Know Your MUC? Check out GLOBE's New Learning Activity!

Gary Popiolkowski, GLOBE Distinguished Educator Fellow, has created a new learning activity for GLOBE called, "Do You Know Your MUC?" The activity helps students learn about land cover by visually examining their study site as well as mapping and recording ground cover.
 
The purpose of the learning activity is to determine and produce a land cover map of plant life at a site to determine the Modified UNESCO Classification (MUC). The activity is available in the Biosphere Section of the Teacher's Guide or download it directly here.  

And don't forget to check out the MUC Field Guide App, which identifies the land cover classification for a specific location. This iPhone app (version 2.2) automates the guide published by The GLOBE Program and contains the complete set of MUC codes.  

What is a Soil Maker? Check out This New GLOBE Learning Activity and Find Out! 

Soil Makers is a hands-on activity for students to explore the geomorphological processes of weathering and erosion. In the new learning activity, "Soil Makers," students learn how wind, water, ice, gravity, and other forces cause weathering and erosion, which shape our landscape and contribute to the development of parent material in the soil-formation process. The activity is available in the Pedosphere (Soil) section of the Teacher's Guide or you can download it directly here. 

Opportunities for U.S. Students

U.S. opportunities are often highlighted in the News Brief simply because we are more aware of them through our local media; however, if there are opportunities for GLOBE students and/or teachers in your region that you would like us to highlight in the coming months, please send the information to:
communications@globe.gov. 

National Wildlife Federation Hosts Young Reporters for the Environment Competition in USA: Entries Due 15 March!   

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is inviting youth in the U.S. between the ages of 13 and 21 to participate in the Young Reporters for the Environment competition. (Students may enter as individuals or as part of a class or group.) Three different media types (writing, photography, or video) may be submitted. Submissions due by Wednesday, 15 March, 5:00 p.m. EST. (The NWF's Eco-Schools USA is a GLOBE program partner.)

Opportunities for Teachers

NASA STEM Educator Webinars

The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative (EPDC) is presenting a series of webinars open to all educators. All pre-service, K-12, and informal educators, as well as university faculty, are invited to join NASA education specialists to learn about NASA missions, activities, lesson plans, educator guides, and online resources that integrate NASA and STEM into the classroom.

An upcoming webinar, "Earth Right Now: Elementary GLOBE; Using Picture Books to Initiate STEAM PBL," is geared toward educators in Pre-K-5. This webinar will be presented on 08 March at 4:00 p.m. (ET). In this webinar, NASA EPDC presents: Science-based storybooks designed to introduce students to key concepts in water, soil, clouds, seasons, aerosols, climate, and Earth system studies. The Elementary GLOBE program explores classroom learning activities complementing the science content covered in each storybook that are designed to further engage students in GLOBE's investigation areas.  

GLOBE Teachers (Texas, USA, Only): NASA's Johnson Space Center Hiring Summer Counselors 

NASA's High School Aerospace Scholars program is recruiting counselors for the summer 2017 session. Applications close on 14 March. In addition to other duties, counselors will be responsible for guiding a team of 8-12 high school seniors through a week-long NASA STEM experience at Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Anniversaries

Congratulations to the 12 GLOBE countries celebrating anniversaries of successful GLOBE implementation during the month of March:

Belgium - 22 years
24 March 1995

Egypt - 22 years
20 March 1995

Finland - 22 years
23 March 1995

Ghana - 19 years
20 March 1998

Hungary - 18 years
10 March 1999

Israel - 22 years
24 March 1995

Kazakhstan - 22 years
27 March 1995

Liechtenstein - 14 years
26 March 2003

Morocco - 21 years
27 March 1996

Nepal - 17 years
03 March 2000

Panama - 17 years
02 March 2000

Senegal - 22 years
17 March 1995