The Plankton Aerosol Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite launched and has begun returning data about Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. NASA’s open science policy allows for all the PACE data to be accessed by the public, but it can be difficult to understand if you are not already familiar with these types of data. Your challenge is to create a digestible set of materials that can be used in classrooms across the world to help students understand the data and information that PACE is gathering, and improve ocean literacy worldwide.
Background
The PACE mission launched February 8, 2024, and began returning data on April 11, 2024. NASA has an open science policy, which means PACE data is available to anyone interested in accessing it. PACE’s instruments—the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), SPEXone polarimeter, and Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 (HARP2) —are collecting data that will help us see communities of phytoplankton, understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, learn how aerosols may fuel phytoplankton growth, and make many more exciting discoveries. The data from these instruments, along with software and visualization tools, are freely available for members of the public to access so they can make discoveries of their own.
Objectives
Your challenge is to create materials that teachers can use in classrooms across the world to integrate PACE data and the science it is enabling into curriculums and lessons. By providing exciting and captivating materials to be integrated into the classroom, your project can help ensure that students know about the great discoveries PACE has made.
Students at various grade levels might use the materials you create, so consider how the information could best be translated for these various target audiences. Are there things that you wish you had seen in your classrooms, or a lesson that inspired you to be curious about science that you could model your project after? You could create a set of lesson plans, an informative video, a resource that allows PACE data access to be “kid friendly” and easy to use and understand, or something entirely different.
Help increase ocean literacy and enable students to fuel their curiosity and creative thinking by learning about and using PACE mission data!
Potential Considerations
You may (but are not required to) consider the following:
Consider various teaching strategies that can be implemented in your project (see Resources).
Consider how your project might be used by students at different grade levels.
How can you make the material as engaging as possible?
Can your project incorporate educational tie-ins to real-world applications?
For data and resources related to this challenge, refer to the Resources tab at the top of the page. More resources may be added before the hackathon begins.
No ideas yet.