The GLOBE Program is a worldwide hands-on, primary- and secondary-school-based science and education program focusing on the environment, now active in 111 countries world-wide.[1] It works to promote the teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and stewardship, and promote scientific discovery. Students and teachers collect data and perform research in collaboration with scientists from numerous international agencies, and their work is made accessible though the GLOBE website [1].
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GLOBE is an acronym for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment. The GLOBE Program seeks to teach young students experimental skills using real experiments and equipment. Students, teachers and scientists collaborate in a unique global learning network.
The program is housed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) at Boulder, Colorado, USA, and sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),[2] NASA,[3] and the National Science Foundation[4] through an inter-agency agreement first signed in 1998.[5] The U.S. Department of State supports the work of the GLOBE Program internationally (see for example the agreement with Mexico[6]) and many other organizations also support the GLOBE Program in the US and around the world.
The GLOBE Program's Mission is to promote the teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and stewardship, and promote scientific discovery.[7]
Specific goals include:
1995 - The GLOBE Program launched by former US vice-president Al Gore on Earth Day, April 22
2003 - NASA selects the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to operate GLOBE
2005 - The GLOBE Program celebrates its 10th birthday
2011 - Student Climate Research Campaign launches[8]
The GLOBE Program provides the opportunity for students to learn by taking scientifically valid measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, land cover, and phenology, depending upon their local curricula. Students report their data through the Internet, create maps and graphs to analyze data sets, and collaborate with scientists and other GLOBE students around the world. All the GLOBE data and observations are in the public domain.
Members of the international science community are involved in the design and implementation of the GLOBE Program. Scientists are involved in helping select GLOBE environmental measurements, developing measurement procedures, and ensuring overall quality control of data. This is important to ensure that other scientists have confidence about these results and their findings. Their continued support and direction helps to ensure that GLOBE environmental measurements make a significant contribution to the global environmental database.