GLOBE Mission Earth Air Quality Initiative Partnership with ND Space Grant

Margaret Pippin and Angela Rizzi at NASA LaRC established a partnership with North Dakota Space Grant (NDSG) and the teachers they support to participate in the GLOBE Mission Earth Air Quality Initiative. Pippin and Rizzi collaborated with NDSG from April through August 2021 to develop the content for a summer teacher professional development focused on air quality. During the professional development sessions, Pippin, Rizzi and Kevin Czajkowski (PI-GME, University of Toledo) presented GLOBE science and learning activities and included techniques for integrating GLOBE data with NASA satellite and PM2.5 data for GLOBE student investigations. NDSG provided each teacher with a PM2.5 small sensor to be installed at their schools resulting in 20 PM2.5 small sensors, up from 2, distributed across the state which will contribute to a better understanding of local air quality including the impacts of western wild fires. Through the continued collaboration with ND Space Grant, GLOBE Mission Earth will provide ongoing support for 15 teachers and their students across the state to conduct authentic air quality investigations for the GLOBE International Virtual Science Symposium.