UNL Weather Camp, an outreach program hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s School of Natural Resources, accepted an invitation to join 10 other elites as part of a national weather camp program.
“For us, it is like when UNL joined the Big Ten football program,” said Ken Dewey, UNL climatologist and camp director. “It shows that our youth outreach education programs are on par with the national standards.”
The program, funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joined a larger mission to reach high school and middle school students and encourage continued interest in scientific fields. The national camp program -- known as CAREERS or Channeling Atmospheric Research into Educational Experiences Reaching Students — is based at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“There has been a lot of attention given to the concept of ‘no child left behind,’” Dewey said. “Our emphasis is to leave no potential scientist behind.”
The larger goal is helping the nation become more globally competitive in scientific fields, and one way to do that is identify students who express an early interest in those areas, Dewey said.
“We want them to realize that there are others like them out there; to remain focused on their academic performance while in school; and to prepare for a career in science,” he said.
UNL’s week-long camp held this June was one of just a handful in the nation with other camps taking place in Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico and Texas.
Students at the UNL camp received hands-on experience and training, measured weather conditions and conducted field and lab experiments. They also met with a storm chaser, talked to forecasters at the National Weather Service, and learned about weather-related issues including storm preparedness, tornadoes and blizzards. The students also visited a local TV station -- CBS affiliate KOLN -- where students were invited into the studio to watch the live news and weather broadcast.
Students also gained exposure to the college experience through interactions with UNL professors and graduate students.
The next UNL Weather Camp is June 10-14, 2013.
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Contact: Charlie Litton, communications specialist, SNR, clitton2@unl.edu
Contact: Ken Dewey, UNL climatologist, camp director, kdewey1@unl.edu
More information: http://go.unl.edu/weathercamp