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Climate Scientists

What’s the difference between climate and weather? Climate is the average weather over a long period of time! Learn about the climate in your area by studying weather patterns and comparing them to average weather data.

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Plan

  • What types of weather will you investigate?
  • Will you need any special tools or instruments to make your observations?
  • Do you think that weather patterns in your region have changed in the last 100 years?

Do

  • Decide which types of weather you will investigate.
  • You can measure temperature with a thermometer, precipitation with a rain gauge, and cloud types with a cloud identification guide.
  • Compare your observations with historical weather data. You can find historical weather data on the internet.

Review

  • Are your observations typical for this time of year in your area?
  • What could cause changes in average weather? How does climate change affect weather?
  • How do you think changes in average temperature or precipitation could affect the environment?

Materials

  • Thermometer
  • Rain gauge
  • Cloud identification chart

Keep it Simple

  • If you don’t have time to fully explore the weather in your area you can choose to only investigate one type of weather!

Take it Further

  • For an added challenge, you can build your own instruments. PBS has instructions for a simple thermometer that you can try!

Get in Touch

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Scouts Canada Charity Number: 107761694RR0028

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