GLOBE Breadcrumb

Camp Guide

Sample Camp Programs by GLOBE Observer Tool

NASA Takes GLOBE to Camp: Looking Up Do You See What I See? Clouds

Learning Sequence

Activity Description:

Provide campers with a tool in which to record what they learn, the observations they make and the questions they might want to explore.

Have campers create a KWL chart that they will fill out throughout camp.

  What I Know     What I Want to Know     What I Learned  
        

Materials:

  • Journals
  • Colored pencils, markers, stickers, etc.

Journal Prompts:

  • What do you see when you look at the sky?
  • Have you ever wondered about the different types of clouds you see in the sky?
  • How do clouds look different when there is a storm?

Daily Journal Prompts:

The clouds are constantly changing. Consider journaling each day with one of the following prompts:

  • As I look at the clouds in my sky, I notice . . .
  • Describe the differences in the clouds that you see in your sky . . .
  • How are the clouds different today than they were yesterday?
  • What are some things that I have wondered or observed about clouds when the weather begins to change?
  • What are questions that you might have regarding clouds?

Activity Description:

Jessica Taylor, cloud scientist and education specialist at NASA's Langley Research Center, describes why scientists are interested in clouds and how citizen observations can help further cloud science.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Before watching the video: Why do you think scientists study clouds?
  • After watching the video: Why does NASA Study the clouds? How can we help NASA study clouds?

Activity Description:

Even on cloudy days, the GLOBE kids figure out ways to learn more about the Earth. In this story, students will learn the names of the different cloud types and be able to relate them to terrestrial phenomena, like ripples on a pond or cotton candy. Students will also discover at what height each cloud type floats in the sky.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Before reading the book: What kinds of clouds can you name?
  • After reading the book: What kinds of clouds can you name? What are some of the differences between these types of clouds?

Activity Description:

Campers make an observation of the clouds in their sky each day for a period of time to identify the types of clouds that are found within their local region. These observations can be taken during the time of a NASA satellite overpass and entered in the GLOBE Observer app to receive a match email back from NASA.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Looking up, what do you see?
  • Does the sky always look the same? Explain.
  • How does the sky look when it begins to storm?
  • Are there times of day that the sky changes more than other times?

Activity Description:

Marilé Colón Robles (GLOBE Clouds project scientist, NASA Langley Research Center) and Tina Rogerson (scientific programmer and GLOBE Clouds data manager, NASA Langley Research Center) share why satellite matches to GLOBE cloud observations are important and how they are done. Then, Heather Mortimer (GLOBE Observer graphic designer and science writer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) walks us through her own cloud observations and satellite matches.

To do this activity, all you need is to make a cloud observation through GLOBE or using the GLOBE Observer app during a satellite flyover time and use the satellite match table you receive.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What are some ways you might expect your cloud observation to be different from the observation made by the satellite?
  • Why is it important for NASA to have ground observers collecting cloud observations?
  • What did you learn from your satellite match observation that you can use to improve your next cloud observation?

Activity Description:

In this activity, stirring the water increases the amount of water vapor in the jar. As the water vapor rises towards the cool tray, it condenses onto particles in the air. If you used a match, this effect will be even more dramatic because of the smoke particles. Watch a demonstration of Cloud in a Jar activity [1:14]

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Have the campers revisit their response to the pre-activity question, “How do clouds form?” Based on the sketch they drew of the cloud in the jar, what did they learn? How does that all relate to the water cycle? Provide a copy of the water cycle and discuss the process of the cloud formation using the terms provided in the diagram.

Activity Description:

Campers view and sketch all of the clouds that they see in their sky, trying to observe different types of clouds at different heights in the sky. After sketching their sky, they use the cloud chart to try to identify the different types of clouds they observed.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • I stared up at the sky and thought I saw a…
  • Describe the differences in the clouds that you see in your sky.

Activity Description:

The Cloud Dance provides the opportunity for campers to put motion to the various types of clouds using descriptive words to guide their motion and the characteristics by which they can be described. This enables campers to relate concrete experiences to the abstract concept of cloud formation.

Campers will need arm’s length space from each other for this dance. Rolling arms in front of their body represents a cumulus cloud. Stretching arms flat out away from body represents a stratus cloud. Flipping hands in a gentle movement upward above their head will represent cirrus clouds.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Watch the clouds move in the sky. Work with a partner to write an original cloud song and come up with a dance to go along with your song.

Activity Description:

Through constructing a cloudscape, campers identify the different types of clouds using various art/craft materials, describe them in common vocabulary, and compare their descriptions with the official cloud names. (They use the sky that they sketched in Looking Up Do You See What I See Activity or a cloud observation of their choice to construct their Cloudscape.)

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How are the clouds that form at each level of the sky the same? How are they different?
  • What are the three main types of clouds? What are words that can be used to describe each type to someone that may not be familiar with clouds?

Activity Description:

This activity can be used as an alternative to the Cloudscape activity for younger campers. Younger campers will learn to observe and describe the three main types of clouds: cirrus, cumulus, and stratus. They will use craft materials to demonstrate the three main types of clouds.

Materials:

  • Cloud Triangle activity guide
  • Cloud triangle graphic (with or without names of three basic types of clouds, included in activity guide)
  • Cotton balls
  • Tissue paper
  • Yarn
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Journal Prompts:

  • Look up in the sky. How might you describe the clouds that you see?
  • Which of the three main types of clouds are you able to find in your sky?

Activity Description:

Clouds are complicated when it comes to climate science, as they both warm and cool Earth. NASA is studying these atmospheric masses of condensed water vapor with satellites and aircraft.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What are the warning signs that a storm is coming?

Activity Description:

For those that wish to incorporate technology as an aspect of their camp the GLOBE Observer app can be used to collect cloud observations. There are tutorials that explain how to use the app and provide helpful hints when making cloud observations.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How does using the app help you with identifying the different types of clouds you observe in your sky?
  • What did you observe while using the app that you might not have noticed when making an observation with just your eyes?
  • How do you think technology can be used to increase the validity of a scientist's work?
  • How might technology adversely affect a scientist’s work?

Activity Description:

Campers practice estimating the amount/percentage of the sky that is covered by clouds. Watch a video demonstration of the Cloud Cover Estimation activity [7:29].

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Which percentages of cloud cover do you think were the hardest to estimate? Why?
  • How might things be affected by different amounts of cloud cover in the sky?

Activity Description:

Campers learn how different concentrations of aerosols (particles) in the atmosphere affect sky color and visibility of our sky. Younger Campers and older campers enjoy this. (Could be used as a connection with Air Quality.)

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Aerosols are tiny particles or droplets that can be found suspended in the air. Describe your life as a suspended particle in the air up above. What do you see around you, above you, and below you?

Activity Description:

To observe, document, and classify changes in visibility and sky color over time and to understand the relationship between sky color, visibility, and aerosols in the atmosphere.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Think about the haze that exists in a large city. Sketch the horizon of a cityscape demonstrating how the buildings and scenery can be obscured by aerosols produced by urban smog.

Activity Description:

Campers explore a variety of materials to determine which ones light passes through, experiencing firsthand the differences between opaque, transparent, and translucent.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Design a city in the sky. Make some of your clouds opaque, hiding a portion of the buildings or houses. Add some transparent clouds that show something blurred behind the clouds. Sketch translucent clouds that reveal objects that you can clearly see.

Activity Description:

Campers can practice cloud vocabulary and learn the names of the different types of clouds.

Materials:


Camp to School Connections

NSTA Science and Engineering Practices

Next Generation Science Standards

  • MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
  • ESS2.D Weather and Climate
  • MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.

Common Core

What's all the Buzz About? NASA GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Camp Pacing Guide

Learning Sequence

Activity Description:

Provide campers with a tool in which to record what they learn, the observations they make, the questions they might want to explore, and their learning as they complete the various learning activities.

Have campers create a KWL chart that they will fill out throughout camp.

  What I Know     What I Want to Know     What I Learned  
        

Materials:

  • Journals
  • Books about mosquitoes
  • Zika Zine comic
  • Colored pencils, markers, stickers, etc.

Journal Prompts:

  • Why do you think mosquitoes play an important role in ecosystems?

Activity Description:

Dr. Rusty Low, a member of the GLOBE Observer science team, talks about why she started studying mosquitoes, and why it's important to collect data about mosquitoes and mosquito habitats, including by using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Mosquitoes rely on places where water collects. Think about your back yard or an area around camp. Draw the objects that collect water and devise a plan to reduce the number of mosquitoes that can gather in this space.

Activity Description:

Learners will look at pictures of an urban setting and a rural setting and circle the items and places that they predict might have mosquito larvae. They will be looking at both natural and artificial (man-made) containers and completing a chart of their predictions.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Think about a place in a city setting and a place in a country setting. What types of containers or bodies of water are present that might attract mosquitoes? What is the climate like in this place?

Activity Description:

Learners will learn about mosquitos and the habitats they need for breeding. They will take a walk around their site to look for objects on the Mosquito Breeding Habitat Scavenger Hunt. Learners will share their findings, see if their predictions were correct, and describe why these objects/areas are mosquito breeding habitats.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What would a female mosquito look for in a space to lay her eggs? Describe characteristics of a space she might consider.
  • Draw pictures of two items around your own home that could be used as a habitat by a female mosquito to lay her eggs.
  • Write about some ideas you have to reduce the mosquito population near your home.

Activity Description:

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in or around water. Anything that collects water could become a mosquito habitat - a place in which eggs, larvae, and pupae can live and grow. Ideal for older learners (ages 10+).

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Why do you think it would be important to conduct a Mosquito Habitat Survey?

Activity Description:

Using diagrams, graphic organizers, and water samples from mosquito breeding habitats, learners will be able to identify and sequence what mosquitoes look like in the four stages of development. Learners will demonstrate this knowledge by working as a group to create and perform a mosquito life cycle dance.

Materials:

  • Life Cycle of a Mosquito activity guide
  • Putting the Life Cycle Together activity sheet (included in the activity guide)
  • Sample of water from a mosquito breeding habitat found during the scavenger hunt
  • Observation Journals
  • Glue sticks
  • Scissors
  • Pencils or pens
  • Hand lenses

Journal Prompts:

  • How would you describe the stages of a mosquito's life cycle?
  • Sketch the various stages you find in your water sample in your observation journal.

Activity Description:

Container-breeding mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water that collects in puddles, buckets, and even trash! This trap tricks mosquitoes into laying their eggs in a container that the larvae can’t escape. You can then report the larvae using the GLOBE Observer app. Remember, this trap isn’t for trapping adults. You should still protect yourself from bites by wearing long sleeves and applying effective insect repellent.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What could you do to make to your trap more desirable to the female mosquito for laying her eggs?
  • Collect your observations in your journal and record any questions or thoughts you have regarding your findings.

Activity Description:

Learners will enjoy listening to different genres of literature about mosquitoes and then have the opportunity to create an accompanying poem, song, or dramatic play to share with others.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What is the main function of a mosquito’s proboscis and why can this be dangerous to people and animals?

Activity Description:

Learners will design and create a pipe cleaner mosquito using a variety of art materials.

Materials:

  • It's All the Buzz activity guide
  • Glue sticks
  • Scissors
  • 6 pipe cleaners per mosquito
  • 1 flexible drinking straw per mosquito
  • 2 googly eyes per mosquito
  • Scrap paper, tissue paper or coffee filters for wings

Journal Prompts:

  • What alerts people and animals to know mosquitoes are nearby?
  • What do you think attracts mosquitoes to bite people?

Activity Description:

Report mosquito habitats observed using the GLOBE Observer app.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How does using the app increase your ability to more accurately submit your data to NASA?

Activity Description:

Learn facts about mosquitoes with these five foldable Mosquito Tellers on the topics of prevention and protection, mosquito biology, West Nile virus, zika and dengue, and malaria. You can also use the blank template to make your own.

Materials:


Activity Description:

Learners will love meeting Hester, Wanda and their mosquito friends. The Zika Zine comic book is a fun way for learners to gain information about mosquitoes including the life cycle stages, habitats and dangers that mosquitoes pose to people and animals. The links are included to the downloadable print version and eReader.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • After reading or listening to the Zika Zine comic, create your own mosquito characters and write ideas for an adventure you can tell about your mosquitoes that gives facts in an interesting and entertaining way.

Camp to School Connections

NSTA Science and Engineering Practices

Next Generation Science Standards

  • K-ESS3-3 Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
  • 2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
  • MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.

A Changing Perspective: NASA GLOBE and Land Cover

Learning Sequence

Activity Description:

Provide campers with a tool in which to record what they learn, the observations they make and the questions they might want to explore.

Have campers create a KWL chart that they will fill out throughout camp.

  What I Know     What I Want to Know     What I Learned  
        

Materials:

  • Journals
  • Colored pencils, markers, stickers, etc.

Journal Prompts:

  • What types of land cover do you have on the ground where you live?
  • What types of land cover did you see on the ground when you came to camp today? How does it compare with where you live?

Activity Description:

Citizens using GLOBE Observer can observe land cover in much greater detail and more frequently than scientists can using satellite data alone.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Before watching the video:
    • Why do you think scientists study different types of land cover?
    • Why would it be important to study the types of land cover in our local community?
  • After watching the video:
    • What are some ways that land cover changes over time?
    • How can citizen scientists help NASA scientists?
    • How might a land cover map be useful for the planning committee in your local community?

Activity Description:

Campers walk along a path through their camp and record differences in the types of land cover to gain experiential awareness of different kinds of land cover and how those change across the surface of the land.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What types of land cover do you see along the path?
  • Does the land cover remain the same or does it change along the path?
  • How does the land cover change as you continue?
  • How do you think the land cover where you are walking has changed over time?
  • What surprised you most about the land cover you saw?
  • What questions do you have about the land cover you observed? Or what would you like to learn more about?

Activity Description:

Learners will make a manual land cover observation and develop a color-coded key to record the land cover type(s) observed.

Land cover is a general term used to describe what is covering the land. Different land cover types are all distinct in their effects on the flow of energy, water and various chemicals between the air and surface soil.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What were the main types of land cover found?
  • How do these types of land cover compared to where you live?
  • When collecting land cover data, the Landsat satellite identifies one pixel at a time based on the land cover most represented within a 30-meter square. Based on your findings how do you think the Landsat satellite would classify the land cover found within the one pixel of data you collected?

Activity Description:

Provide campers an opportunity to explore and learn about the ecosystem found around the base of the tree and beyond. (This activity could be used as a connection with Trees.)

Materials:

  • The World Beneath Your Tree and Beyond activity guide (coming soon)
  • Observation Journals

Journal Prompts:

  • How would you describe the root structure around the base of your tree?
  • Were there plants growing around the base of your tree? If so, what type of plants? Describe
  • As you moved out from the base of your tree what type of land cover did you discover?
  • What type of living organisms did you observe on, around, or near your tree?
  • What might happen to the organisms that live around your tree if the tree were removed?
  • What might happen to the land cover around your tree if the tree were removed?

Activity Description:

Demonstrate how technology can be used to learn about our environment, while contributing to NASA citizen science.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How does using the app increase your ability to more accurately submit your data to NASA?

Activity Description:

Campers sketch a map of their camp identifying the different types of land cover features.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How might your map look differently 10 or 100 years ago?
  • How might you find out what the map would have looked like 10 or 100 years ago?

Activity Description:

Campers create a 3-D model of an area and develop a classification system for the landforms in their model. They use their eyes as remote sensors and view the model from a variety of heights and perspectives. Campers then create maps of the objects they see. The maps can be used to answer certain questions about the environment.

Materials:

  • Odyssey of the Eyes activity guide
  • Paper towel or toilet paper tubes
  • A variety of materials (boxes, cardboard, paper, paint, glue, tape, etc.) to make the models
  • Ruler
  • Writing materials
  • Activity sheets (included in the activity guide)

Activity Description:

Discuss the image and how the land where the camp is currently located might have changed over time.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • From your initial exploration of the satellite image(s): What colors do you see?
  • What do you think the different colors represent?
  • Can you identify various locations around camp in the images that you see? What questions do you have?
  • What do you see? Record your initial thoughts in your journal.
  • Create a legend of the different colors in your journal and predict what you think each one represents.

Activity Description:

Have the campers construct a LEGO profile based on the Landsat image from space and then compare that to the map that they sketched.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How does the satellite image compare to the “real deal?”
  • What do you see when you explore the areas around your camp?
  • What types of land cover do you see?

Activity Description:

Identify two types of land cover from your Land Cover Walk. Make sure they are distinctly different in terms of water permeability and vegetation types (bare ground vs. well vegetated). Consider the effects of different types of land cover on the rest of the Earth system and look for animal tracks.

Materials:

  • Observation Journals

Journal Prompts:

  • As you moved from one land cover type to another, did you notice any changes in air temperature?
  • Were there plants with flowers or fruits that insects and birds might feed on?
  • Were there places where wildlife such as mice and rabbits or larger animals might find shelter and hiding places?
  • Upper Level: When rain falls on these two different kinds of land cover, will the surface absorb the water or will the water run off without penetrating the surface?

Activity Description:

Familiarize learners with various land cover types as viewed from a satellite orbiting above Earth, providing them the opportunity to explore how remote sensing can provide valuable information as we study our planet. Select a few Landsat images that represent a variety of land cover types.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What do the different colors represent in the image?
  • What types of land cover can you identify within the image?
  • How do these compare to the land cover at your camp?
  • What types of landforms do you recognize within the images?

Activity Description:

Land cover changes over time, sometimes suddenly and sometimes gradually. Documenting these changes reveals a lot about the landscape and helps us discover the story of this place. Think about changes that have occurred in your camp over time. Do you have pictures to document those changes? Provide copies of images of different locations around camp for the campers to view, have each of the teams select a photo or set of photos if you have images of the same location over a period of time. See if the teams can guess where the picture was taken and the order of the various transitions that have occurred in the photos.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How has your camp changed over time?
  • Sketch some of the changes you think occurred here.

Camp to School Connections

NSTA Science and Engineering Practices

Next Generation Science Standards

  • ESS1.C The History of Planet Earth
  • ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth systems
  • LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • LS2.C Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
  • LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans

NASA Takes GLOBE to Camp: Making Every Tree Count

Learning Sequence

Activity Description:

Have campers record the information that comes into their brain on the left page (e.g., observations, notes, sketches, etc.) and anything that they think or wonder about the information (e.g., questions, creative descriptions of what they are learning, etc.) on the right. The title page can be something of the campers’ design/creative ideas.

Have campers create a KWL chart that they will fill out throughout camp.

  What I Know     What I Want to Know     What I Learned  
        

Materials:

  • Journal
  • Colored pencils, markers, stickers, etc.

Journal Prompts:

  • What types of things can we observe while using our Observation Journals?
  • What do you enjoy exploring while you are outdoors?
  • Are there things that you enjoy looking at through your window? Or maybe things you enjoy when you and your family go outside to enjoy some fresh air?
  • What are some questions about nature that you would like to explore?

Activity Description:

NASA's ICESat-2 uses lasers to measure heights on Earth, including tree heights. Watch the video to join Brian Campbell (GLOBE Observer Trees science lead) for an overview of the satellite. Plus, learn how to look at the data coming from ICESat-2.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What NASA satellites and instruments are making tree height observations from space, and how might one be able to compare one's ground-based data to those observations?
  • Why is measuring and observing tree height important?

Activity Description:

Trees cool and moisten our air and fill it with oxygen. Tree height is the most widely used indicator of an ecosystem’s ability to grow trees. Observing tree height allows NASA scientists to understand the overall health of our forests. Tracking how trees are changing over time can help us estimate the number of trees in an area.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • Why are trees different in different parts of the world?
  • What can we learn about an ecosystem by the trees we observe in that area?

Activity Description:

Campers walk along a path through their camp and record differences in the types of trees they observe to gain awareness of different kinds of the types of trees and how those affect the ecosystem.

Explore the different species of trees native to their area, try to find examples of these in your community and sketch them in your observation notebook. Make sure to zoom in on a certain aspect of each tree that you find interesting.

Materials:

  • Tree identification books
  • Observation Journals
  • Colored pencils

Activity Description:

The learner will gain an appreciation of nature from a distance and close up point of view. As they hone their observation skills, their curiosity will increase. The learner will explore a tree from a distance and then “zoom in” on a specific place or aspect of the tree, sketching the tree from two different perspectives. Each investigation will bring new awareness of what makes up a tree. The learner will learn that trees can be good habitats for insects, animals, lichen, fungi and even plants.

Materials:

  • Zoom In activity guide (coming soon)
  • Age-appropriate book that looks at trees or nature up close up.
  • Zoom In activity sheet (in activity guide) or notepad
  • Clipboards
  • Colored pencils

Journal Prompts:

Thinking back to your tree observations, select at least three of the following to write about in your journal. Include sketches that might expand upon your entry. Maybe find a tree in your own yard or neighborhood to sketch.

  • I saw...
  • I measured...
  • I noticed...
  • I wonder... because...
  • I want to know more about...

Activity Description:

The learners will become tree detectives looking for clues to a tree’s identity. Trees provide all kinds of clues such as their overall shape, their bark, leaves or needles, flowers, fruits and seeds, and leaf buds. Their location can also be a clue. The learner will pick a mystery tree and use their detective skills to gather clues. Using deductive reasoning, they will solve the mystery of their tree’s identity! It may only take one or two clues to identify a tree, or it may take many. Sometimes, you may need to conduct additional investigations to solve a puzzling one. The identity is in the details!

Materials:

  • Be a Tree Detective activity guide (coming soon)
  • Tree identification guide for trees in your region
  • Magnifying glass
  • Sketchbook
  • Colored pencils
  • Camera or phone for taking pictures
  • Evidence collection bag

Journal Prompts:

  • What helped you most in figuring out the identity of your tree?
  • What did you learn about your tree?
  • If you could not identify your tree, what further information do you need?

Activity Description:

Campers will learn about the life cycle of trees by exploring the forest for the different stages of tree growth. This activity provides campers with further evidence that all living things, or organisms, grow and change as they progress through their life cycle.

Using observation and inquiry, hike throughout the forest while looking for the various stages of trees, stopping to feel the bark from trees, safely explore fallen logs, and inspect moss or mushrooms that may be growing on tree snags and eventually helping them decompose, or break down. Over time, the tree will become part of the rich soil that will provide a habitat, or home, for another seed.

Materials:

  • Life Cycle of a Tree activity guide (coming soon)
  • Age-appropriate book that discusses a tree’s life cycle (possibilities could include The Little Acorn, Because of an Acorn, From Seed to Plant, etc.)
  • Walking shoes
  • Laminated or printed scavenger hunt sheets (in activity guide)
  • Clipboards
  • Dry erase markers or other writing utensils

Journal Prompts:

  • What organisms did you see or hear?
  • Did you see the different stages of a tree’s life cycle?
  • What are the stages of a tree’s life cycle?
  • What organisms make a home in trees during their different stages of development?

Activity Description:

Just like people can be healthy or sick, so can trees! Experts who study trees (called arborists) look for symptoms in trees to determine whether they are healthy or not. You can look for some of these indicators in a tree near you!

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What do trees need to grow and be healthy?
  • How are those similar to what humans need?
  • What signs might you see in trees that show that they are healthy or unhealthy?

Activity Description:

The purpose of this activity is to understand how dendrochronology, or the study of data from tree ring growth, can help us to understand more about a tree’s age along with trauma and environmental events it has encountered over the course of its lifetime.

Have the campers write their own tree ring stories, each ring will represent one year of their life. They can include indentations in their layers to show certain events that occurred that they feel were of major importance during that year of their life.

Materials:

  • The Stories Trees Tell activity guide (coming soon)
  • The Stories Trees Tell video [5:40]
  • Tree stump, “tree cookie,” pictures of tree cookies, or a printout of the cross section of a tree
  • Paper or journal
  • Colored pencils

Journal Prompts:

  • Why are some rings more narrow than others? What years in your life have you grown more than others?
  • What types of information can be read within the rings of a tree?

Activity Description:

Have campers explore the various organisms they find living at the base of their tree and within the branches of their tree. Then discuss what other organisms might make their home beneath the ground at the base of their tree. Have campers sketch the various habitats that can be found within the branches and below in their observation journals.

Materials:

  • Magnifying lens
  • Colored pencils
  • Books about tree habitats
  • Observation Journals
  • Binoculars

Journal Prompts:

  • Talk about habitats within the tree and below the tree.
  • Discuss how air temperature beneath the tree differs from the temperature out in the sun and how the tree provides shelter and protection from the weather.

Activity Description:

The purpose of this activity is to give learners a sense of the range of tree heights in comparison to the range of the heights of people reinforcing scale and proportion and being able to take a known measurement and compare it to an unknown measurement.

Materials:

  • How Many of Me Equals a Tree? activity guide (coming soon)
  • Tape measure
  • Clinometer or device with the GLOBE Observer app installed
  • Calculator (optional)
  • Pencil
  • Paper

Journal Prompts:

  • Make a prediction about how many of you it would take to be as tall as the tree you have chosen.
  • How many of you did it take to equal a tree? Was your prediction correct? If your prediction was not close, why do you think that happened?

Activity Description:

The purpose of this activity is to investigate and record data about trees by learning how to measure tree height. Children will learn how to measure trees using a variety of scientific tools, including a measuring tape, a clinometer, and/or the GLOBE Observer app.

Download the free GLOBE Observer app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Optionally, try taking a Land Cover observation in addition to a Trees observation.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • How does the height of the trees where you live vary?
  • How do the heights of the trees where you live compare to those around camp?
  • Why do NASA scientists want to know about the height of trees around the world?

Activity Description:

Explain the different ways that scientists study forests from space, and why it is important to have multiple types of data.

Materials:


Journal Prompts:

  • What are some of the reasons why a scientist might want to know about how healthy a forest is?
  • Why is it important for scientists to understand forests in 2D and 3D?

Activity Description:

Satellites like Terra, Aqua, and Suomi NPP detect heat with their infrared sensors. Such heat signals can sometimes be the first clue to scientists and firefighters that a fire is burning.

Satellite images are useful to firefighters and emergency managers as they try to figure out where to deploy people, fire trucks, and planes and to assess what areas suffered the most damage. Scientists use fire maps to better understand how fire spreads and how one year compares to others.

Materials:


Camp to School Connections

NSTA Science and Engineering Practices

Next Generation Science Standards

  • K-LS1-1 Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
  • K-ESS3-1 Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.
  • 2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
  • 4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
  • MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
  • HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
  • HS-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.