Educator Workshop on Teaching Climate Science

Crossroads at Big Creek will host a workshop to introduce teachers to the basics of climate science and provide classroom-ready materials and demonstrations usable both as laboratory experiences for students and as outreach activities in the community. The workshop is scheduled for Aug. 19, 8:30 am – 3:15 pm.

Resources including the ACS Climate Science Toolkit and authoritative booklets from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Climate Assessment and the American Meteorological Society will be provided in free, downloadable PDF format for distribution to students and the public. These materials provide factual information including the nature of greenhouse gases, the mechanism of global warming, the history of Earth’s temperature swings, and multiple lines of evidence supporting the seriousness of climate change.

The presenters are Bruce Smith, former high school teacher and AMS atmospheric education resource agent, who will address issues such as dealing with climate change skeptics and how the polar vortex demonstrates a changing climate; and Frank Shaw, professor emeritus of chemistry at UW-Milwaukee and Illinois State University, who will discuss chemical aspects of climate change and give demonstrations of climate change chemistry. The workshop costs $15. To register, call Smith at 920.256.0333.