Weather Station Challenge

Our Plan for a Weather Station

First term this year we discovered and settled an island.  We explored it and set up a society of 24 people.  Things have been going pretty good on our island.  We want to figure out a way to predict weather, so we can make plans like farming and sailing.

We know that to forecast weather, scientists use 6 aspect of weather.  Wind Speed (anemometer), Wind Direction (Wind Vane), Air Pressure (Barometer), Precipitation Amounts (Rain Gauge), Temperature (Thermometer), Humidity (Hydrometer).

Our challenge is to figure out a way to measure as many of these aspects of weather that we can, using the materials we have on our island or that we brought with us.  We are starting to wish we had packed better - like bringing a thermometer!  This means we have to use things we find around the house.  We can replace wood/trees with cardboard.

We can look at pictures of the instruments, but since we don’t have those materials - we need another plan.  

Wind Direction and Precipitation amounts are pretty easy we think.

We’re not going to worry about trying to make a thermometer.

An anemometer is probably at a medium level of difficulty.

But Barometers and Hydrometers will be difficult - not impossible.

For the Barometer and Hydrometer we don’t need to be exact, but can we tell if the air pressure and humidity are going up or coming down.

By Monday morning our challenge is to bring to school, two weather instruments that work. The higher the level of difficulty for the instrument, the more lea-way we have.

This is not a parent project, you can advise, but the students are the ones having to solve the problem and figure things out.

I look forward to seeing the finished results.