science All ages Live now

Weather Lab Grades 6 to 8

Weather Lab Grades 6 to 8 is a 12-week weather and climate course for middle schoolers. Students build Station Rooftop at home from a jar rain gauge, a wind flag and a cloud log, and keep a daily weather log. Week by week they learn why the Sun heats the Earth unevenly, what air pressure and wind are, how water gets into the air and falls back out as clouds and precipitation, how air masses and fronts make the weather change, what thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes are and how to stay safe, how ocean currents shape regional climates, and how NOAA and NASA read the global climate record. The course ends with the student's own one-day forecast and a weather-ready plan for their home. Short daily lessons with checked answers, a hands-on Station Lab each week and a Saturday Station Day for the family. 100% free, start to finish.

• Tell weather from climate and measure temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation and wind at a home station
• Explain how unequal heating by the Sun drives pressure, wind, ocean currents and regional climates
• Describe the water cycle, how clouds form and how each kind of precipitation falls
• Read a surface weather map and explain how air masses and fronts change the weather
• Name the main weather hazards, tell a watch from a warning and follow the National Weather Service safety rules
• Read the global climate record as NOAA and NASA report it and design a weather-ready plan for your home