NASA eClips™ NASA Spotlite Challenge: Cloud Detectives Presented During the GLOBE/ESS Water Cooler Webinar

Science Activation's NASA eClips and NASA’s Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) teams, along with The GLOBE Program, and the GLOBE Observer, have partnered to co-develop and promote the NASA Spotlite Challenge: Cloud Detectives. Representatives from the NASA eClips and NESEC teams (Joan Harper-Neely, from the National Institute of Aerospace, and Theresa Schwerin, from the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, respectively) recently presented about the Spotlite Challenge to 16 participants at the GLOBE/Earth Systems Science (ESS) Collaborative Water Cooler webinar on January 27, 2022. Webinar participants were guided through each phase of the Challenge, which focuses on one of two misconceptions about clouds: 1) All clouds produce rain; and 2) Clouds are made of gas. Student teams are asked to select one of the cloud misconceptions to investigate and make a claim to refute the misconception. Teams are then challenged to make observations and gather evidence to support their claim. Lastly, student teams write an engaging script and produce a 90-120 second video that addresses the misconception. In the video, teams conduct a demonstration/experiment or show how they used GLOBE cloud protocols (GLOBE Observer app or GLOBE data sheets) to disprove the misconception. The videos encourage other students to engage in science by trying the demonstration and the GLOBE Observer app (with the necessary support and supervision). The NASA Spotlite Challenge: Cloud Detectives is currently accepting student teams. All submissions must be received no later than March 25, 2022. (Science Activation NASA eClips Award No: NNX16AB91A)

https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/resources/sdchallenge/4