Describes how the study of a hurricane can be used to provide integrated basic mechanics in a first-year college course in engineering mechanics. Presents models that predict wind speed given surface eye pressure and several radial dimensions of the storm and calculate total kinetic energy once the wind speed is determined. (ZWH)

Describes a study of temperature variations over different surfaces in an urban campus setting. Explains that researchers sampled temperatures over grass, bare soil, gravel, concrete, and blacktop. Reports that grassy areas registered the highest morning temperatures and lowest afternoon temperatures. (SG)

Reports the experiences of a continuing education group of geographers crossing the Indian Ocean by ship. Describes the bizarre weather conditions encountered and the lack of meteorological coverage of the area. Explains how knowledge of basic physical geography helped to avert a disaster when weather reports did not match the conditions being…

Describes an activity to learn about meteorology and weather using the internet. Discusses the National Weather Service (NWS) internet site www.weather.gov. Students examine maximum and minimum daily temperatures, wind speed, and direction. (SAH)

Educating the public about safety issues related to severe weather is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) mission. This month's insert, Severe Weather, has been created by NOAA to help educate the public about hazardous weather conditions. The four types of severe weather highlighted in this poster are hurricanes,…

Five weeks after Katrina landed in Louisiana, Bonnabel and 78 other Jefferson Parish schools were welcoming students back--and far sooner than many had expected. The worst damage in Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina did not come to Jefferson Parish. That distinction was reserved for portions of New Orleans, as well as St. Bernard Parish, where…

Young children are just beginning to develop an understanding of time. In the preschool and kindergarten years children often have difficulty understanding the difference between yesterday, today and tomorrow, much less Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This article offers tips that teachers may use to make these abstract concepts less confusing: (1)…

This article describes how a teacher changed all his plans to teach the hurricane. When the Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, kids become naturally curious and seek answers in an event this big. The author suggests the use of tragedies to help them grow as students and as citizens.

"Education Week" Staff Writer Michelle R. Davis sat down with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, on January 9, 2006, in the secretary's office at the U.S. Department of Education. This article contains excerpts from that interview. Secretary Spellings notes that being a parent of school-age children has given her an unusual…

This article features the text of a speech by Richard Whiteside, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission at Tulane University in New Orleans, that was presented during AACRAO's Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference, November 15, 2005, in Chicago. In his speech, Whiteside recounts his personal story of living…

Researchers at the Harvard Prevention Research Center at Harvard University School of Public Health examined how physical and social environments of schools and neighborhoods shape routine physical activities of students attending 10 middle schools in the Boston area. They also analyzed the effect of weather conditions on student physical…

This book contains simple experiments through which students explore air and its properties. Some of the topics discussed include alternative energy, bacteria, carbon dioxide, motion, weather, and flight. Experiments include: blowing a balloon up in a bottle; seeing air in water; making a lunch-bag kite, weather vanes, and paper glider;…

A Minneapolis/St. Paul telephone survey revealed that most people interviewed relied on radio weather reports for weather information, that the amount of weather information retained from radio and television forecasts was minimal, and that most people were satisfied with television weather reports. (GW)

Discusses the various inclement weather conditions (and regional biases toward them) contributing to administrators' decisions to close school for the day or for part of the day. Considers childcare problems and safety considerations. An inset offers closing advice for parents. (MLH)

The educational potential of time-lapse video sequences and weather data obtained using a conventional microcomputer are considered in the light of recent advances in both fields. Illustrates how videos and microcomputers can be used to study clouds in meteorology classes. (RM)