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Discount Admission Reward for Completing the COSI On Wheels Program:

Bring this coupon to COSI for one free Youth General COSI Admission with one paid Adult full price General COSI Admission. Valid through 9/7/15. Limit ONE coupon per offer. Same day onsite sales only. Not valid for Group Admission, Special Admission exhibits, Family Friday Nights, The Planetarium, National Geographic Giant Screen Theater, or other special engagements. Cannot be combined with other admission or discount offers. No cash value. COW: CC

ONE FREEYouth General Admission

With One Paid Adult General Admission

I helped a COSI meteorologist-in-training with the COSI On Wheels CURRENT CONDITIONS show!

The day started off with an assembly where the COSI educator asked for our help to create a thunderstorm in our school! We explored air pressure by crushing a large jug, precipitation, and there was a large cloud made out of water and liquid

nitrogen. Our assembly ended with a bang as a Marx Generator created lightning that struck over and over!

After the assembly we had the chance to try out several different hands-on activities. At Measuring the Wind, we tested different blades to

create the best anemometer to measure wind speed. We created small tornadoes with Tornado Tube by changing the direction of the wind. Canister Cloud let us create

a cloud right before our eyes!

Meteorologists are more than just the men and women on TV who tell us what the high and low temperatures are for the day. There are meteorologists who

collect weather data, some who create new devices to measure the weather, and even some who specialize in specific industries, such as agriculture or fishing.

The birth of meteorology is generally credited to Aristotle, who, in 340 BC, penned a ground breaking book called Meteorlogica, which is thought to be the first book ever written about weather. Aristotle taught his pupils to study the world by observing what happens in the world. He taught us to not only ask ‘why?’, but ‘how?’, and helped humanity take its first small steps toward unlocking the mysteries of where rain comes from, what makes the wind blow, and why the seasons change. Although many of these questions have been answered, the atmospheric scientists of today are making new observations, and asking new questions which will be waiting to be answered by the next generation of meteorologists.

Try this experiment at home…

Rain gauges are used by meteorologists to record the amount of rainfall at a specific location over a period of time. They can also be used to figure out the average yearly rainfall of an area and let us know if we are near drought or flood levels.

RAIN GAUGE

Materials needed: RulerMasking TapeVarious Containers (Coffee Can, Milk Carton, Mason Jar, Test Tube, etc.)PencilPaper

1. Using a ruler, mark off centimeters or inches on strips of masking tape.2. Attach the tape to the containers so that they are measuring from the bottom to the top. (The containers should be open at the top. If you’re using something like a milk carton, get an adult to help you cut the top off.)3. Set the containers on a flat, level surface in an open spot outside. To help insure that the containers will stay upright, you may want to place them in a box. 4. After a rainfall check the measurements and write them down. What do you notice about them? 5. The next time it rains try setting the various containers in different spots and seeing how a small change in location can affect the readings you get.

BOOKS TO READ• What Will the Weather Be? by Lynda Dewitt and Carolyn Croll• Weather by Brian Cosgrove• The Kids’ Book of Weather Forecasting (Kids Can!) by Mark Breen, Kathleen Friestad, and Michael Kline• Weather (Dk Guide) by Michael Allaby• The Book of Clouds by John A. Day• On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World’s Weather by Marilyn Singer and Frane Lessac

Here are some new things that I learned today:

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We learned lots of cool things today, which are aligned with Ohio’s Academic Content Standards. COSI On Wheels, the traveling outreach program of COSI, an interactive science center in Columbus, Ohio, has been traveling since 1982, bringing hands-on science demonstrations into elementary schools all across Ohio and surrounding states.

WEBSITES TO SURF• www.nws.noaa.gov/• www.edheads.org/activities/weather/• www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/activities.html• www.weather.com• eo.ucar.edu/webweather/activities.html

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