You be the scientist with satellite imagery in EZ/EC communities: IEEE 2001 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium

Abstract

You Be The Scientist With Satellite Imagery (YBTS) in Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Community (EC) is designed as a student enrichment project for 6 targeted middle schools located in the communities of Portsmouth, Virginia and Halifax, North Carolina. The student enrichment component is designed to support extra curricular science activities structured to maximize awareness of and utilization of GOES satellite data to meet core Earth Science learning objectives and to develop marketable skills in the area of computer technology. The goals of the YBTS program include: 1) Providing teachers and students with an understanding of satellite imagery concepts; 2) Sharing with students information on careers critical to NASA's overall mission; and 3) Sharing with students and educators information related to NASA's earth science enterprise. Implementing this project is Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), at which the MU-SPIN Office of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has established a Network Resources and Training Site. ECSU brings satellite imagery to middle schools in its region in an effort to enhance the study of mathematics and science by under-represented minority student. The program is designed to aggressively strengthen the current Earth System Science outreach to EZ/EC middle schools by GSFC and the ECSU-NRTS. YBTS enhances the student's understanding of fundamental remote sensing concepts. These concepts include: air masses of the earth; atmospheric absorption; cloud types and movement; cloud height and temperature; cold fronts; the Coriolis effect; the diurnal cycle; fire detection; the Gulf Stream; high level clouds; the jet stream. and the intertropical convergence zone.