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 WORKSHOPS: Please see workshop pages for ongoing workshop offerings in weather and climate (which is constantly being expanded) including information about a brand NEW workshop being offered in Spring 2026 on the role of air masses in weather (MS-ESS2-5).

In addition Circle of Illumination is pleased to announce some unique brand new offerings in earth science:

A webinar on April 1st from 4-5 pm ET as part of the Michigan Science Teachers’ Association 2026 Professional Development webinar series entitled:

Place-Based Teaching About Soils with the U.S.D.A./N.R.C.S.’s “Web Soil Survey”

Map Showing the Percent Sand Content on Farmland East of Shepherd, Michigan.

Source: Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Web Soil Survey. Available online at the following link: http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/. Accessed [3/18/2026].

Although historically the properties of soils have been of greatest interest to farmers as land gets converted from agricultural production to residential subdivisions and other uses around the country knowledge about the types of soils that exist in a particular place and their properties are of increasing importance.

In this hands-on workshop participants will learn how to use a very user-friendly, but sophisticated, web-based geographic information system (GIS) called the “Web Soil Survey”. With this tool participants will be able to see the types of soils at specific locations and to obtain detailed information about their characteristics and their suitability for different types of land use ranging from houses with basements to septic tank absorption fields.

To register go to: https://www.msta-mich.org/MSTA-Webinar-Series. FREE for MSTA members, nominal fee for non-members.

2. CROSS-CURRICULAR WORKSHOP with ACCOMPANYING HANDS-ON WORKBOOK:

“BREATHING LIFE INTO ELEMENTARY MATH WITH WEATHER AND CLIMATE”

Photo by Amy Lilienfeld 2021.

LET’s FACE IT! Grinding through math problems can be dull and boring! So why not provide a context for math in a rich cross-curricular environment while introducing students to the “big ideas” in earth science? For example learning how and why day length changes over the course of a year while practicing elapsed time? In this workshop participants will learn about this and a multitude of other ways in which big ideas in earth science can be introduced and solidified while applying basic, simple, age-appropriate math. The entire session will involve working problems!

LOCATION: YOUR DISTRICT or SCHOOL, DATE and TIME TO BE MUTUALLY DECIDED.

PRICE: $475.00

DURATION: 3 HOURS with additional 15 minute break (worth 3 SCECHs)

To express interest, ask questions and/or register contact Dr. Lilienfeld at amy@circleofillumination.com

CIRCLE of ILLUMINATION SCIENCE EDUCATION, is a woman-owned, teacher-owned company, operated by Dr. Amy Lilienfeld, a geographer who has taught earth science for over 20 years at the college-level. 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 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.