Students Use NASA Data in the Classroom for Air Quality Research

The "ExploreHope Air Quality Monitoring Project" at Hope College in Holland, Michigan (supported by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium) facilitates the use of portable air quality monitoring technology into middle and high school classrooms. Air quality monitors, developed by Don Triezenberg, a retired physics and mathematics teacher, allow students to take local readings of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and ozone in the air and explore how environmental conditions can affect those air quality parameters. Students are encouraged to define their own questions and use the monitoring network data to answer those questions, a great opportunity for hands-on, scientific learning about the environment.

At the end of February 2022, with support from the NASA TEAM II Remote Opportunity Rapid Response Grant, Hope College began working with the My NASA Data project to "Link Student Driven Data to NASA Data: Authentic Air Quality Data Inquiry for Improved Student STEM Self-Efficacy". The My NASA Data program will provide broader regional and global context to the local experience by providing in-kind training on how students can incorporate NASA resources into their projects using My NASA Data's Earth System Data Explorer Tool. Together, Hope College and My NASA Data are creating authentic science research experiences for middle and high school students.

My NASA Data: https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/
ExploreHope Air Quality Monitoring Project: https://hope.edu/academics/center-exploratory-learning/school-programs/middle-high-school-air-quality-monitoring.html

My NASA Data is made possible in part by support from the Science Activation GLOBE Mission Earth Project (Award No. NNX16AC54A.)