NSF NCAR & UCAR Science Education

10/15/2026

🌊 How can ocean science inspire learning in your classroom?

Join us and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) for Dive Into Learning: Bringing Ocean Science to Your Classroom, a free virtual workshop for educators!

Explore how scientists observe and monitor the ocean, discover classroom activities focused on coastal hazards, ecosystem changes, and food security, and find new ways to bring ocean science into your teaching. Whether your students live near the coast or far inland, the ocean plays an important role in our interconnected Earth system. 🌎

🗓 Thursday, October 22
⏰ 4–5 p.m. MDT
💻 Free virtual workshop

Learn more and register: https://scied.ucar.edu/educators/teacher-professional-development/ocean-science?utm_source=sm

10/15/2026

10/07/2026

🚀 One month to go until Super Science Saturday!

This year’s event marks 30 years of Super Science Saturday, and we’re celebrating with a day of science, exploration, and discovery. ✨

Join us November 7 at the NSF NCAR & UCAR Mesa Lab for hands-on activities and opportunities to explore the science all around us. Get ready to boldly go where your curiosity takes you!

For more information about the event: https://scied.ucar.edu/visit/ncar/super-science-saturday?utm_source=sm

09/29/2026

Become a Pika Data Detective! 🔎🐾

What can pika behavior data tell us—and what happens when an AI-generated interpretation gets it wrong? In this middle school activity, students analyze pika behavior data, evaluate an AI-generated interpretation, and use their own scientific reasoning to evaluate and revise the claim.

Explore the activity in our Learning Zone! https://scied.ucar.edu/activity/pika-data-detectives?utm_source=sm

📸: NPS/Ann Schonlau

09/25/2026

Why are cities often hotter than the areas around them? ☀️🏙️

Cities can be several degrees warmer than their surroundings because roads, buildings, and other surfaces absorb the Sun’s heat and release it into the air. With less vegetation to provide shade and natural cooling, that heat can really add up!

Learn about urban heat islands, what causes them, and how things like shade trees and reflective surfaces can help keep cities cool in this Animated Atmosphere video!

For more fun and digestible atmospheric science videos, explore the full Animated Atmosphere playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKOf8qv7lwLbPj3Dfp7uIFV53NMH7xp9X&si=9d5MvyCvFNWW0rys?utm_source=sm

09/22/2026

Last week, we had the opportunity to celebrate the 2026 Advancing Environmental Literacy Award at the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) Awards Celebration! 🎉

We’re honored to have our work recognized alongside so many inspiring environmental educators and organizations from across Colorado. It was especially meaningful to celebrate our Director, Becca Hatheway, and the work of the entire UCAR Center for Science Education team.

A big thank you to CAEE for this recognition, and to the educators, learners, partners, and communities who make this work possible. We’re grateful to be part of a community working together to connect people with environmental and Earth science education.

Congratulations again to Becca and the entire SciEd team! 💚

09/17/2026

What's up with weather fronts? ☁️

Weather fronts are places where different air masses meet. When a front passes over an area, it can bring rain or snow, temperature changes, thunderstorms, gusty winds, and sometimes even tornadoes!

Learn about the different types of weather fronts and the conditions they bring, how they move, and more in this Animated Atmosphere video!

For more fun and digestible atmospheric science videos, explore the full Animated Atmosphere playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKOf8qv7lwLbPj3Dfp7uIFV53NMH7xp9X&si=9d5MvyCvFNWW0rys?utm_source=sm

🎨: FableVision

09/16/2026

Since extreme heat can seriously impact human health, NSF NCAR researchers have created a new, publicly available dataset to provide potentially life-saving information for researchers, city managers and health officials to understand heat stress in urban environments. A collaboration with Emory University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, HUMID-Atlanta focuses on hi-res urban weather datasets that factor in humidity, temperature, wind, and even the height and density of buildings for a full picture of how heat impacts urban citizens. The data is then cross-referenced with records like hospitalizations from the same time period to identify trends like what weather conditions in what areas cause spikes in heat stress. Identifying when and where dangerous conditions are likely to occur can help to reduce heat stress on residents.

Learn more: https://news.ucar.edu/133090/hot-new-dataset-focuses-human-health

09/15/2026

Captain’s Log. Stardate 80317.5.
The 30th anniversary of Super Science Saturday approaches. These are the voyages of NSF NCAR & UCAR. Its continuing mission: to explore our planet Earth; to seek new answers to complex questions; and to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Set phasers to fun, and prepare your crew to live long and wonder at this year’s Super Science Saturday event!
🗓️ November 7, 2026
📍 NSF NCAR Mesa Lab

For more information and to look at photos from past events: https://scied.ucar.edu/visit/ncar/super-science-saturday?utm_source=sm

09/10/2026

Earlier this summer, we hosted our second annual National Ozone Garden Network Workshop! 🌎🌱

Partners from as far as the Denali Education Center in Alaska to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Mississippi came together to exchange ideas on programming and data collection, and learn from NSF NCAR & UCAR scientists about the impacts of ground-level ozone. Participants also had the chance to hear from local experts during a panel discussion on air quality.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this workshop such a great opportunity to learn, share ideas, and connect!

To learn more about the National Ozone Garden Network: https://research.cgd.ucar.edu/ozone-garden/?utm_source=sm

Center for Astrophysics l Harvard & Smithsonian