THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 45, NO. 36 | MAY 3, 2024
HEADS IN THE CLOUDS
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Corpus Christi School, Lawrence, fifth graders (from left) Brynna Whitmore, Aurora Harper, Claire Miller and Emery Bailey with teacher Humbelina Harper study the color and opacity of the sky. They earned the chance to present their scientific research project to a group of NASA and national STEM scientists at the Southwest Student Symposium from May 3-4 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Forecast looks partly cloudy to young Lawrence scientists By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org
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AWRENCE — Four students at Corpus Christi School here have spent the past three months researching how relative humidity affects cloud formation. “When I presented [their research to a group of ] NASA scientists, their jaws kind of dropped,” said teacher Humbelina Harper. “They were like, ‘What grade are your students in?’ “That’s when I think it became alive.” Emery Bailey, Aurora Harper, Claire Miller and Brynna Whitmore are fifth graders at Corpus Christi. They earned the chance to present their scientific findings to a group of NASA and national STEM scientists at the Southwest Student Symposium from May 3-4 in Fort Worth, Texas. “They’ve been selected to do this,” said Harper, “and I think it’s a lifetime opportunity for them.”
Wonder and awe Harper submitted her students’ research project to a funding committee
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
From left, Emery Bailey, Brynna Whitmore, teacher Humbelina Harper, Aurora Harper and Claire Miller create a cloud in a jar. offering scholarships to support their trip to the Southwest Student Symposium, and it was accepted. “They will be doing a poster presentation to a group of NASA scientists who will judge them on different criteria,” said Harper. “If they score high enough with the other schools,” she continued, “their project could be picked to go present
[on an international scale in] New York later this summer.” The students will also have the chance to participate in a night nature walk observation where they will help with data collection to further environmental knowledge. Since becoming a teacher just two years ago after working professionally in medical lab science, Harper has
sought out ways to further her own education and enhance her students’ learning opportunities. She applied for a GLOBE educator cohort program through NASA this school year and was one of 20 teachers in the United States who were accepted. This past year, the cohort focused on learning NASA’s cloud protocol. “What that means is scientists are able to research the same information throughout the world through very detailed procedures called protocols,” explained Harper. Learning how to take the readings with that protocol took up much of her professional development time, which was done on her own time. The work allowed her to incorporate the cloud protocol curriculum into her classrooms and teach her students how to become “citizen scientists.” “This is something that they can do outside of school in their homes,” said Harper. The students were taught how to make a valid scientific observation by recording and writing scientific nature notes. They then learned the process of >> See “STUDENTS” on page 5