Wisconsin Students Engage in STEM Learning Through Interactive Environmental Resources

The mission of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center is to "...teach the student to see the land, understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands," in the spirit of famed Wisconsin conservationist, Aldo Leopold. The Nature Center specializes in connecting children, their families and teachers with the wonders of the natural world through hands-on, guided experiences. The Climate Education Center, a recently completed new addition to the Nature Center, is designed to teach children, their families and educators about climate science, renewable energy and sustainability through experiential digital technology. The Climate Education Center (CEC) is currently piloting programs to students in grades 4-8 using new exhibits and technology, such as:

• Science on a Sphere: a high definition global projection system displaying NOAA & NASA planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere to illustrate Earth System science.

• Madison Gas & Electric Renewable Energy Center: a dynamic digital program that will allow visitors to learn about available alternative energy technology.

• Green Building Interactive Tour: a touchscreen tour leads visitors through the newly renovated Nature Center and provides behind-the-scenes peeks at the green technology and energy-efficiency measures in place throughout the facility around them.

The multi-pronged educational approach of the CEC combines outdoor, hands-on, experiential place-based learning with a variety of digital media and technology, and allows the CEC to engage and educate a diverse audience on a wide range of environmental and science content. Combining technology with real-world climate change phenomena and data, using the environment as context for exploring intricate connections and dynamics in our natural world, makes the CEC an integrated setting for STEM education.