CICAR Outreach Home

Delivering world-class, climate science information and research achievements to educators, students, and the general public in appealing, informative, and challenging ways that stimulate thought and encourage environmental awareness.

Open House at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is an exciting opportunity for adults and children of every age to learn about the Earth and the state of its scientific understanding in fun and engaging ways. Over the past 50 years this annual event has grown to nearly 40 exhibits, lectures, and demonstrations and attracts over 4,000 people to the Lamont campus each year. Attendees learn about the current developments in the Earth Sciences, and about how our increasing scientific understanding of the Earth helps preserve its future. Different exhibits are aimed at different ages and educational levels, from elementary school-age children to college students to those well versed in the earth sciences. To learn more about this annual event please visit: LDEO Open House

At Open House the Cooperative Institute for Climate Applications and Research hosts an exhibit showcasing NOAA-sponsored science at Lamont. This annual event is the Institute’s major outreach activity and where CICAR representatives interact with students, educators, and the general public discussing important scientific concepts and research achievements in paleoclimate research, ocean observations, and climate modeling. These topics are directly relevant to climate issues such as Global Warming and Abrupt Climate change. Scientists share their knowledge with an eager audience and CICAR administration provides supporting materials designed to stimulate environmental awareness through active participation.

The NOAA Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) is a strong supporter of CICAR’s outreach efforts. The OAR Cooperative Institute office contributes a variety of climate-related posters and brochures for Open House that engage the public and foster a greater understanding of NOAA’s message “to better observe and understand the climate system, improve forecasts and allow society to better respond and adapt to climate variability and change”.

In the Kids Only section we’ve included activities and web links to other important sites designed to help kids better understand the important role they play in keeping planet Earth healthy.

The Teacher Resources section contains environmental awareness checklists suitable for classroom instruction. New to the CICAR outreach program is a series of classroom-friendly science projects for teachers. The first project will be available to download in early Fall 2007.