Explore our Learning Zone page to learn more about these dynamic weather events. Perfect for educators, students, or anyone curious about how our atmosphere works!⚡

Growing cumulus clouds

Thunderstorms are powerful, complex, and surprisingly common—there are about 2,000 happening around the world at any given moment! ⛈️

However, not all thunderstorms are the same! Thunderstorms can be categorized by convection cell structure, or by the location they form and the reason the air rises.

Events Explore interactive, super fun exhibits that let kids learn and discover on their own terms. See hours, admission, and what’s happening at our museum.

Join us for a day of hands-on activities, exploration, and Earth-focused fun. We’ll be there sharing interactive ways to learn about our planet and the science behind it—come say hi!
Learn more about the event here!

A scientist in a big curly white wig standing behind a booth, demonstrating an activity using two two-liter bottles attached at their openings

We’re excited to be part of Party for Our Planet at the Children’s Museum of Denver this Friday! 🌎

With options for PreK-12 students, our Learning Labs are a fun way for students to learn about weather, the atmosphere, Sun and space weather, and more! Spots fill up quickly, so take a look at our website and book your class visit soon.

Stay tuned this fall for Spring 2027 field trips to open!

A group of 10 people standing outside on the Weather Trail behind the Mesa Lab

A classroom with people standing, walking around, and sitting at four tables

Eight people exploring the weather exhibits on the first floor of the Mesa Lab

Field trips to the @ncar-ucar.bsky.social Mesa Lab for the Fall 2026 semester are now open!

Leave inspired, informed, and equipped with practical strategies you can implement right away! Learn more or register for the workshop here!

On Day 2, we'll head to the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab to discover how scientists study and model our Earth system. You'll dive into dynamic classroom-ready investigations that bring these concepts to life for your students.

On Day 1, begin your journey at the CU Museum of Natural History, where you'll uncover hidden clues in the environment. Go behind the scenes in the collections to explore real specimens and the stories they tell.

Two people looking at fossil specimens in a collections room

Join us June 9-10, 2026, for From Fossils to Forecasts—two full days exploring Colorado's ancient past, present, and future!

This in-person professional development workshop is open to all K-12 educators, with a focus on secondary-level science.

Our team will be presenting multiple sessions focused on Earth system science, classroom-ready resources, and ways to support meaningful, engaging learning for all students.

If you’re attending, we’d love to connect—stop by one of our sessions and say hi!
#NSTASpring26

A group of 20 educators seated at tables watching a presentation at the front of the room

We're heading to the NSTA National Conference on Science Education 2026!

This week, science and STEM educators from across the country will gather in Anaheim to share ideas, explore new strategies, and connect around the future of science education.

Let’s explore machine learning and subseasonal forecasting! In Tuesday's virtual Explorer Series conversation, Kirsten Mayer discusses how NSF NCAR scientists use machine learning to uncover what conditions make long range forecasts more accurate.
Details: https://bit.ly/48tYsr5

This resource is a great way to help learners see how science works in the real world, where data collection involves uncertainty, problem-solving, and careful observation. It also opens the door for hands-on exploration!

In this Learning Zone story, Dr. LeMone shares her real experience measuring rainfall during a major storm in Colorado. What seems like a straightforward task quickly becomes more complex, with factors like wind, nearby trees, uneven equipment, and even curious wildlife affecting the results!

Rain might seem simple to measure—but it turns out it’s not quite that easy.

The result is a collection of lessons that maintain strong scientific inquiry while expanding how students engage, participate, and connect with real-world science.

Teachers can also use these resources to learn more about UDL and adapting lessons in their own classrooms. Explore it here:

Using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a guide, teachers tested instructional approaches, explored different learning structures, and developed variations for existing GLOBE Weather activities.

Developed in collaboration with the College of Charleston and @pennwest.bsky.social, this multi-year project brought educators together to explore how Earth system science can be taught in ways that better support all learners.

Eight people sitting at tables with laptops and worksheets watching four people present at the front of the room

Three teachers sitting at a table working on activity adaptations

We're excited to announce the release of our Adapted GLOBE Weather Pathways lessons!

This hands-on activity combines data collection with design thinking, helping students connect Earth science to their everyday lives—while thinking like scientists and building practical problem-solving skills.

Try it in your classroom!

Nine kids standing in the shade in a grassy field holding infrared thermometers

Turn your schoolyard into a science lab 🌞🌳

In our classroom activity, Cool Playgrounds, students investigate how temperature varies across different surfaces like grass, asphalt, and shaded areas, then use their findings to design a cooler playground.

Students will learn:
- How real science impacts their lives
- How scientists design research projects to answer questions about the Earth system
- About diverse careers that contribute to field projects in Earth system science
Find this classroom activity and more in the Learning Zone!

In this activity, students explore real atmospheric field projects—including work from @ncar-eol.bsky.social —to see how scientists answer questions about the Earth system using collaborative efforts and data collected from a variety of research tools and platforms.

Bring this real-world science into your classroom with our Field Projects: Science in Action activity, designed for middle and high school students!

Because scientists can’t control the weather, these projects can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months to ensure they capture the conditions being studied.

That data is then analyzed to improve our understanding of the Earth system and to build more accurate weather and environmental models.

These collaborative efforts, called field projects, use a wide range of tools like ships, radar and lidar systems, atmospheric profiling instruments, and ocean sensors to collect data in real-world conditions.

Doppler on wheels during an intensive observation period in Fort Stockton, TX. Dark storm clouds on the horizon with a rainbow over the blue flatbed truck.

What is an atmospheric science field project?

Scientists from many disciplines—such as atmospheric science, oceanography, geology, and even social science—often work together to study specific weather and environmental phenomena.

In the upcoming Explorer Series lecture, NSF NCAR’s Mariana Cains explores how convergence research and AI can help researchers address societal needs and hazardous weather for myriad situations. Join us on Wednesday, April 8, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Mesa Lab and online.
https://bit.ly/4cgnQTm