1. Climate and Weather: The Two Go Together Girl Scouts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research Rebecca Anderson & Andrea Sealy Kristen L. Corbosiero, Vani Cheruvu, Yaga Richter, Christine Johnson and Teri Eastburn

2. Goals: 1. To introduce young women to the atmospheric sciences in a single sex, non- competitive, hands-on and inquiry-based environment.

3. 2. To show young women that female scientists are normal people, with families and hobbies, who are researching relevant and exciting environmental problems.

4. The program was developed by two postdoctoral fellows in the Advanced Studies Program (ASP) at NCAR in cooperation with the Mile Hi Girl Scouts council.

5. The program brings 50 girls from around the Denver area to the NCAR Mesa Lab in Boulder each spring and fall. The girls tour the exhibits and computer lab, walk the nature trail and participate in hands-on activities.

6. The first activity of the day, and one of the day’s highlights, is a live weather balloon launch conducted by Kate Young of NCAR’s Earth Observing Laboratory.

7. The girls learn see a live feed of data being collected in the atmosphere and learn how it is used to help make better weather forecasts.

8. Other morning activities include: a)a water cycle game b)NCAR computer lab tour c)a keynote talk by a female scientist about her research and how she became interested in science.

9. The afternoon activities are focused around a 50 page, full-color workbook designed by the NCAR postdocs organizing the event. The workbooks are free of charge to the Girl Scouts as they are generously paid for by the Advanced Studies Program at NCAR.

10. The workbook contains instructions for the hands-on activities the girls will participate in during the afternoon, as well as a number of experiments they can try at home.

11. The workbook also contains information on weather and climate, and links to web pages where the girls can get more information on science and technology.

12. At the end of the workbook are photos and biographies of the NCAR volunteers the girls have interacted with during the day. Sometimes the girls even ask for the volunteers for their autographs at the end of the day!

13. Thanks to generous funding from the ASP office, many female (and a few male) volunteer scientists and NCAR staff and assistance from the NCAR Education & Outreach office, over 200 girls have visited NCAR and participated in the GS@NCAR event!

14. The 6 th GS@NCAR event, held this past September, marked the completion of the 3 rd year of events under the 3 rd generation of leadership. We are now looking for new leadership to organize the next event for the spring of 2008. Please visit the GS@NCAR website for details: www.asp.ucar.edu/gswebsite

15. Other E&O Opportunities http://eo.ucar.edu/

16. ASP Science Kits Designed by ASP postdocs- portable, hands-on demonstrations outside of NCAR Used for schools, church groups, retirement communities, etc. Density tank, Why we have seasons, Crushing cans, Clouds in a Jar and The Board of Chaos

17. UCAR/E&O activities UCAR E&O booth –demonstrations at various public activities (festivals, career fairs) Ice Fest, CU-Boulder March 8-11 2007 –Celebrating beginning of International Polar Year (IPY) –wide variety of activities around the theme of ice and snow, polar research and climate studies Taste of Colorado, Denver Labor Day weekend (Photos courtesy of Ilan Kelman)

18. SOARS mentoring Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program designed to broaden participation in the atmospheric and related sciences seeks to involve more students from groups that are historically under-represented in the sciences, including Black or African-American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, female, first- generation college students, and students with disabilities Mentors: research, communication and writing, community (Photos courtesy of Bob Henson and Rebecca Haacker-Santos)