PSL to Demonstrate Instrumentation at Exploratorium
July 1, 2010
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Researchers from the Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL), Physical Sciences Division (PSL) are finalizing plans for the first of several visits this summer to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA. They will demonstrate to visitors the operation and use of precipitation-measuring equipment used in research connecting climate and weather in the water cycle, including field deployments for both the Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) and CalWater in California. The researchers will give a number of demonstrations daily during the course of each visit between July and early September. Comments and questions from visitors observing the demos will help guide Exploratorium staff and the researchers as they collaborate to develop more permanent HMT-related exhibits (such as a "rain-chamber").
In July 2009, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Exploratorium Executive Director Dennis Bartels announced a five-year educational partnership to co-develop interactive exhibits, online learning experiences, professional development workshops, and more. The announcement was made on a pier in San Francisco where the Exploratorium will move within five years. Exploratorium staff visited ESRL a month later to learn more about NOAA science and brainstorm with researchers on how to present it to the public in an engaging way. Exploratorium staff were intrigued by the HMT instrumentation demonstrated by PSL personnel, which led to a follow-up meeting a few months later in San Francisco.
The Exploratorium is considered the prototype for hands-on museums around the world and a leader in the movement of museums as educational centers. With more than half a million visitors to the Exploratorium each year, this collaboration is an exciting opportunity for NOAA to demonstrate and explain its cutting-edge research and important discoveries to a broad audience.
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