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Bowling Green State University Engages Undergrads and Citizen Scientists in GLOBE

Feb 27, 2020

The GLOBE Midwest Region Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Partnership engaged in both undergraduate GLOBE student research and collaborative Federal grant development activities to further promote GLOBE in the region and beyond. Our Science and Math in ACTION Program is a "Choose Ohio First" funded endeavor that prepares middle and high school math and science teachers to excel in best practice instruction. Incoming freshman students participate in a three-week summer bridge program and The GLOBE Program is spotlighted as the inquiry in learning mini-course.

BGSU Undergrads do GLOBE — BGSU freshman ACTION students
collecting surface air temperature
data in search of BGSU’s hottest
(and coldest) places on campus!

Students engage in GLOBE-related research over a five-day period. Each ACTION team of four students conducts and presents a student research project focusing on Urban Heat Islands and GLOBE surface and air temperatures (and our research confirms that the BGSU campus is indeed a heat island). During this freshman academic year, six students are working on a study to identify BGSU’s hottest (and coolest) places on campus, and will write and submit a campus sustainability grant application this spring requesting funds to mitigate our urban heat.

BGSU faculty engaged in collaborative grant-writing activities, submitting a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal Science Learning (AISL) application entitled BASIN (Becoming a Scientist through Informal Networks) in November 2019. The team worked together with the U.S. GLOBE Partner Coordinator and the GLOBE Implementation Office, alongside various local informal learning community partners, including the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium, the Imagination Station Science Museum, and Lucas & Wood County Soil and Water Districts. BASIN will advance informal science learning by engaging citizen scientists (grade 5 to adults) in monitoring critical water quality measurements contributing to our recent algal blooms and drinking water contamination. GLOBE hydrology protocols will be used, as well as a newly developed smartphone technology for improved hydrology data collection resulting in deeper learning and more highly engaged citizens.