Some Indiana teenagers hunker down at the edge of a shaded pond
to draw water samples. They use a pH meter to test and record the water's
acidity. After discussing their findings with their teacher, the kids return
to the classroom and punch the data into a computer.
A group of 10-year-olds step outside their South Carolina elementary
school to check a special thermometer for the current temperature, as well
as the high and low temperatures of the past 24 hours. They record the numbers,
then examine the sky for the type and density of today's clouds.
Students in Idaho use a hand-held Global Positioning System instrument
to read signals from space satellites that help them pinpoint a 30-by-30-meter
plot, known as a pixel, where they'll take measurements involving the ground
cover, structures, and various geographical features. Later, a National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientist will use the kids'
reports to help interpret satellite pictures.
These projects are more than just hands-on science designed to enliven
the curriculum. They are examples of students performing real scientific
measurements that will be used by scientists around the world in a program
called GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment).
GLOBE, a federal program headquartered in Washington, D.C., involves kids
in using scientific instruments, accumulating data, and posting results
for scientists and the world to see and analyze on the Internet.
Through GLOBE, kids at more than 4,000 schools in more than 50 countries
are learning to think and work like scientists by measuring changes in the
water, soil, and atmosphere of the planet. Students send the information
to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data bank in
Boulder, Colo., which quickly produces brilliant "visualizations"
that students, teachers, scientists (and anyone else) can view and analyze
on the web. (To see the data for yourself--and to sign up your school--go
to the GLOBE web site.) In the first
30 months of operation, thousands of GLOBE students recorded and filed more
than three-quarters of a million environmental observations.
Global goals
Vice President Al Gore launched GLOBE in 1994 with the goals of raising
student achievement in science and math, increasing scientific understanding
of the Earth, and spurring environmental awareness. The program is administered
by a consortium of U.S. federal agencies working with educators and scientists
at school districts and universities. Other participating nations oversee
and support parallel operations.
GLOBE students use scientist-approved devices and procedures to observe
and measure air temperatures, precipitation, cloud cover and type, water
temperature and acidity, soil types, and other matters of interest to scientists
and science education. Readings are taken at specific times and locations--often
at high noon, at a spot near the school. Some students come to school on
weekends and holidays so the record-keeping can continue without interruption.
"Getting constant, accurate readings provides a record so scientists
and students can better understand the workings of and changes in our environment,"
says Dixon Butler, GLOBE's chief scientist.
Scientists insist GLOBE projects are not just busywork. "The data
that the students collect is of great value," says NASA scientist Elissa
Levin, "especially in the areas where we [scientists] can't get in
to do research. We really, really want to have this information."
GLOBE students can compare their data to information provided by other
schools and the National Weather Service and to satellite pictures of their
neighborhoods. And they have the thrill of knowing that the information
they've gathered on the ground helps researchers put detail into satellite
images. Those images show the location of vegetation, for instance, but
the kids provide more information by measuring plant growth and identifying
the dominant types of trees. Jim Washburne, a hydrologist at the University
of Arizona, says he uses GLOBE soil measurements "to help calibrate
and validate the next generation of computer-based models and to help interpret
data obtained by space satellites that estimate soil moisture."
Lessons in real science
GLOBE students learn the importance of persistence and consistency in
gathering information. And taking the same measurements again and again
and again, students learn that science can be demanding. In many schools,
the students take turns taking the measurements, but they all learn the
importance of gathering accurate information over a long period of time.
Schools that aren't part of the program can benefit from the kids' work
by using GLOBE's web site to analyze data maps and other information. But
perks come with full participation. GLOBE students and teachers have access,
for instance, to special e-mail set up for GLOBE schools around the planet
to communicate with each other.
Discussions usually revolve around such matters as why schools that are
oceans apart have similar rain patterns, but talk often turns to geography
and cultural differences as well. And friendships can blossom: Youngsters
at Central Primary School in Corbin, Ky., developed such a strong relationship
with a school in Australia that the Australian teacher came to Kentucky
to visit.
Training and paying
The student-scientists are guided by teachers who have received three
or four days of intensive training at GLOBE-run workshops and sessions held
at school districts, universities, and state agencies. About 4,000 teachers
received this training in the first two years of operation. They now get
continuous support from a toll-free help desk, the GLOBE web site, and a
hefty manual providing guidance and lesson plans.
GLOBE provides training, including educational materials, and schools
pay for lodging. To be eligible for participation, schools must provide
their own computers with Internet access and equipment. The expense of performing
measurements can range from a few cents--a legitimate tree canopy "densiometer,"
used to determine the density of tree cover, can be made from a toilet
paper roll and a washer--to about $700 for the full array of devices that
high school students need to complete sophisticated research protocols for
air, water, and soil studies.
Each school or district determines its own level of involvement and financial
commitment. "School boards are appropriately wary of investing money
in new programs because they don't know if they have lasting power,"
says Middlebury, Vt., board member Debra Foster, whose district uses GLOBE
in its science curriculum. "But the materials and instruction that
GLOBE supplies are invaluable for the long run, and the help desk gives
us constant support."
Educators are enthusiastic. "In my 23 years of teaching," says
Bob Jost of Fresno, Calif., "I have never seen such positive student
reaction to a science program. They like learning because it's hands-on
and real life."
Linda Clifton, principal of Booneville (Miss.) Middle School, says she
likes the way "the program combines classroom activities and modern
technology. This all fits well with our statewide goals of using new technology
and sharing ideas among educators."
"GLOBE is an incredible program, a very exciting opportunity for
teachers and students," agrees board member Foster. "It would
be a real mistake to see it as just another of the many programs out there."
Perhaps the strongest endorsement comes from kids. "I like studying
things that real scientists study," one fourth-grader says. "It
makes me feel important and that I have a big purpose."
Hank Roden works for the GLOBE program
and the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. | 
