News - Africa
Exploring Water with GLOBE and Murals
Eleven educators and graduate students were trained in GLOBE hydrosphere protocols and learned about the Earth Around Us water tent on 9 April 2025 at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. The New Hampshire GLOBE Partnership, based at the Leitzel Center at the University of New Hampshire, led the workshop.
Before attending the workshop, participants set up accounts and
learned about the GLOBE Program through a pre-workshop eTraining.
During the workshop, they learned about the Earth Around Us Tent
Program, engaged with the Elementary GLOBE storybook “Discoveries at
Willow Creek,” practiced with a macroinvertebrate key, and did a
scavenger hunt to find items on the water tent panels.
Workshop participants look for items on a scavenger hunt on the Earth Around Us water tent panels.
Despite some unseasonably cool weather, in the afternoon participants
eagerly conducted water quality measurements and searched for
macroinvertebrates in a stream that runs through the University of New
Hampshire campus.
Workshop participants observe water samples as they measure nitrates.
One of the participants reported through the workshop evaluation that they used to think “the water tent was overwhelming,” but now they know “that it is easy to implement with students.” Another reported that they used to think “water science was boring,” but now they know “it can be hands-on fun.”
Workshop participants look for macroinvertebrates in tubs along the stream that runs through the UNH campus.
Earth Around Us Tent Program
The Earth Around Us Tent Program is run by the New Hampshire GLOBE Partnership in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service. The Earth Around Us Tents are a traveling educational lending program consisting of a soil tent and a water tent. This program combines hands-on science activities centered around an Elementary GLOBE storybook and a pop-up tent with immersive murals depicting students’ observations of their local ecosystems. The Earth Around Us Tent Program offers an opportunity for career exploration with scientists, activities aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), data collection, and flexibility to work with a school's timeline, curriculum, and needs.
Earth Around Us Tents are available for New Hampshire schools and community sites free of charge.
The Earth Around Us Tents development and this workshop was made possible by support from the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region. Programming is supported through GLOBE Mission Earth.
The Earth Around Us water tent murals depicting student investigations in three seasons.
Water Tent Implementation Guides
The New Hampshire GLOBE Partnership recently released two implementation guides to go along with the water tent: one for grades K–2 and the other for grades 3–8. These guides provide activities and resources to get students prepared for a visit with the water tent. Activities are organized by pre-tent visit, during the tent visit, and post-tent visit. Please note: educators without access to the water tent may still find these guides useful for their own water studies!
The Water Tent Implementation Guides can be downloaded from the Earth Around Us Tent Program webpage.
Jennifer Bourgeault peeks through a crack in the water tent panels.
News origin: Leitzel Center at the University of New Hampshire