Hardin Hall was packed Saturday with weather enthusiasts of all ages for the 16th annual Weatherfest and Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium.
The first and second floors of Hardin Hall were filled with dozens of booths where participants learned about all aspects of weather.
“This is a really fun and involving event,” said Emilee Lachenmeier, sophomore meteorology and hydrology major, who was manning the Hail to You booth with Haylie Mikvlak, junior meteorology and climatology major. “It's a learning opportunity for students, but a good opportunity for families to get involved. It's a very hands-on event, and it's easier to learn from hands on.”
Children at their booth were using homemade, colored play dough to build their own hail, one color at a time. Starting with one color dough, they rolled a ball; then added a second color around the outside, and then a third. Once smooth, Lachenmeier and Mikvlak cut the ball in half, revealing a jawbreaker of color on the inside.
“You have three layers,” Mikvlak told a participant. “How many times do you think it went up and down in the cloud?”
Three. Each time a hail stone enters a cloud, it gets another layer of ice, she told them.
Each booth offered a similar activity-plus-information opportunity.
Vicki Cotton, her husband Scott, and their three grandchildren were capitalizing on it. The children didn't miss a booth Saturday, not even the face painters.
Emmalyn, Shane and MaKaley Smith watched a heated can collapse on itself when dropped in ice water. They created their own weather spinning wheels. They learned facts and myths about weather. And they became their own weathercasters in front of a green screen.
“The two older ones are really enjoying the interactive exhibits,” the Lincoln woman said. “It's great information, and they're really relating the information to the kids.”
Adults weren't left out either.
Those who didn't participate themselves in each of the booth activities attended the symposium, which focused on the flooding that hit Lincoln and Southeastern Nebraska in May 2015. A pair of speeches preceded the Storm Spooter training workshop.
“The symposium was how this all started,” said Ken Dewey, event organizer and SNR professor. Out of the series of daylong talks grew activity-driven Weatherfest.
Since the transition, Dewey has shifted his focus for the event as well.
“I have two goals,” he said. “This is an opportunity for people who want to learn more about weather to do so, and as a host location for the statewide Nebraska Science Festival, it's also an opportunity for people of all ages to have fun exploring science. Seeing all the smiling faces and engagement of participants in the various activities tells me those goals were reached.”
The success is evident.
— Shawna Richter-Ryerson
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/szap