NOTICE and WONDER……

Photo Sheared Mammatus Cloud. Stillwater, Minnesota. October 2019. Copyright Amy Lilienfeld/Circle of Illumination Science Education.

One cannot help but notice and wonder about something like this unusual “sheared mammatus cloud”. But like all clouds it is a phenomenon indicating the incredible things that are going on in our atmosphere.

What secrets do YOU think this cloud is trying to tell us?

But all clouds, in general, are just one element of the highly complex phenomena called “Weather” and “Climate”. Although they operate at vastly different spatial and temporal scales weather and climate are comprised of many of the same elements: air temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind direction and speed, and atmospheric pressure. Each of these elements is constantly changing but also often interacts with some of the other variables in a highly complex system. One of the major goals of Circle of Illumination Science Education is to help unpack some of this complexity while emphasizing the big ideas in a way that all teachers, regardless of prior knowledge, will be able to comprehend.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFERINGS: Please see webinar offerings below for the start of the new school year 2026 — below (undergoing some revision so stay tuned!) but go to separate “Professional Development Workshops/Webinars” page for ongoing offerings.

WEBINAR: INTRODUCING THIRD GRADERS TO WEATHER WITH REAL-TIME DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS:

PART I. METEOGRAMS (NGSS 3-ESS2-1).

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21st. NOON - 1 pm. 1 CEU. REGISTRATION DETAILS TO BE AVAILABLE IN EARLY AUGUST. IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS MAY ALSO BE REQUESTED.

What better place to start the process of introducing third graders to weather data than with the formation of dew? But dew formation is the result of one of the most important processes in weather: condensation. When air becomes saturated with water vapor, i.e., when relative humidity reaches 100%, condensation will occur. The temperature at which this occurs is called the air’s “dewpoint temperature”. Although at ground level this is associated with the formation— often overnight — of both dew as well as fog at higher altitudes it is associated with the formation of clouds.

In this webinar (or in-person workshop) participants will be introduced to meteograms created by the Wyoming Weather Web (associated with the University of Wyoming Dept. of Atmospheric Science) and the American Meteorological Society. One of the meteograms that will be used will show how when air temperature and dewpoint temperature coincide fog will form. Participants will also be shown how to access and interpret the real-time data upon which these diagrams are based and how they can be used for students to create graphs.

Bonus! If time permits participants will be shown how, with two thermometers and a fan, students can measure the relative humidity of air.

CIRCLE of ILLUMINATION SCIENCE EDUCATION, is a woman-owned, teacher-owned LLC, operated by Dr. Amy Lilienfeld, a geographer who has taught earth science for over 20 years at the college-level and substitute taught for two years in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in the instruction of weather, climate and other aspects of earth science and geography thru the provision of teaching training and high quality instructional materials. The grade focus is primarily on upper elementary and middle school grades. Almost all of the training and related products involve the use of data provided by agencies of the Federal government such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.