Nature Unleashed Camp Day 3

Day 3 was a complete success! Today we taught about hurricane Katrina and toured the museum's exhibits. Among the exhibits we got to go in a hurricane simulator, but we measured wind speeds (as all good meteorologists do) and it turns out it was more like a "tropical storm" simulator topping out at 54 mph. We also saw a garage door from the wreckage of Katrina. I got to teach the kids about the circulation of a hurricane (counter clockwise and inward) and what to put in a disaster kit.
We also checked out the earthquake exhibit and learned about the primary and secondary waves created by quakes.
Our hands-on experiment was "cloud in a bottle". By using a two liter pop bottle, hot water, smoke, and decompression we created a cloud in a bottle.

Nature Unleashed Camp Day 2

Today was an amazing day! We focused on what makes wind and how it mixes. By using whole milk on a plate (air), food coloring (to make it visible), and dish detergent (sun) we created an experiment that replicated our atmosphere (in a sense). The detergent/sun creates a chemical reaction with the milk/air that causes the milk/air to swirl and mix. The kids found out that the food coloring/pollution/volcanic ash will mix all over the worlds air and turn it murky brown. So, no matter what spot you have pollution it will eventually mix into the whole atmosphere. They also thought it would be fun to watch me demonstrate centrifugal force with the brown murky left-overs of our experiment, but of course I start laughing and splashed my foot :(
We also taught them about earthquakes with icing, fruit roll ups, and grahmcrackers. They were very well versed in earthquakes, because they live close to the New Madrid fault line and they learned about it in school.

I also had the chance to tour the museum yesterday and took pictures today. The museum has a replica of the oval office and EVERY document that belonged to the Clinton's during Bill's Presidency. It is SO cool and the architecture is AMAZING!

Chase, The Tornado Chasing Wonderdog, came and visited us at camp. He is the official mascot of VORTEX@ (Verification of the Origins of Tornadoes EXperiment). He has been on many storm chases and has met many important people. I was honored to be able to snap a picture with Chase and former President Bill Clinton :)

Nature Unleashed at the Clinton Presidential Museum

I have been a busy bee getting ready for the Miss US Earth pageant. My duties as Miss Kansas Earth 2010 include spreading the word on my platform ("Be Aware, it's in the Air"). I was extremely lucky to be presented with an awesome opportunity from the University of Oklahoma's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences to outreach to children about weather in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Clinton Presidential Center and Museum. A summer camp program well named "Nature Unleashed" is for middle-school-ish aged kids to learn about natural disasters and how humans react to them.

Today is Day 1 of camp and we learned tons! We used a rubber mat to see if the kids could lift it off the table from a hook in the center. They learned when they couldn't lift it up that air has mass, and on a 10x10 inch mat it amounts to about 1600 pounds! Next, we simulated the updraft in a thunderstorm with a hair dryer (updraft) and a ping pong ball (hail). Then, we used windbags to teach Bernoulli's principle. An air cannon (trash bin, shower curtain, and bungee cords) was a favorite of the boys, who were fighting over shooting a cup off my head with air. And of course, we couldn't leave out the forecasting lesson, which teaches them that air is invisible and it is really hard to forecast when you can't see it. Last but not least, we made cool waterspouts in pop bottles which taught the kids the importance of pressure.

Well that is all for now, and I will write back tomorrow for Day 2 of camp :)

Miss Kansas Earth 2010

I just recieved the title of Miss Kansas Earth 2010! I can't wait to represent Kansas in the Miss United States Earth pageant in August in Laughlin, NV. The winner of that pageant will move on to the Miss Earth pageant in Vietnam. I've never even left the U.S. so it would be an opportunity of a lifetime to go there. Earth pageants are all about the environment and since I am a meteorology major I feel that I can bring my education to the table. During my reign as Miss Kansas Earth I will create awareness for the dangers of extreme events directly related to climate change and I will support and lobby for "Clean Energy" (my favorite being WIND!). For the next few months I will gather information about going green and post them, so you can do them at home too :)

More posts coming soon!

Love,

Cat

Miss International 2009 Pageant

Internationals were so much fun, but not without hard work. With appearances at Chicago Boys and Girls Clubs and a tour of the peir contestants still had to practice for the big production. After long days of practicing we had a wonderful dinner and then showtime! Prelims and Finals were great. I felt like I did well and conveyed my style and personality on stage the best I could. I had a great time (and lots of laughs) with my roomie Miss Teen Oklahoma Intl Lyndzee and my pageant director Lauri! Thank you guys for helping me get ready for the pageant. Lyndzee, thanks for the big Oklahoma hair and sparklyness. Lauri, thank you for helping me get into the right clothes at the right time and for the many food detours :) I only got to see Mrs Oklahoma Inlt Rachel for a couple minutes because she had a plane to catch home as her pageant finished, but it was good to see her too. I also got to meet Jayna Altman Miss International 2008 she was amazing and very nice. She will hopefully be attending the Mrs Oklahoma pageant in March. I can't wait to see her again. All in all it was a great experience and I'm so blessed with many great new friends in my life.

VORTEX2 Media Day

For those of you who don't know what VORTEX2 is, it is the largest tornado experiment that has ever been attempted by humankind. To learn more and see video go to weather.com. Click on the VORTEX2 tab to see video. Here is the link for my interview with them also http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?from=email&bcpid=823503751&bclid=19052817001&bctid=22598663001. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I met all the greatest minds in meteorology. I also did interviews with the show StormChasers, but I don't know if it will make the show or not. Taking pictures with all the radars and gadgets was super cool too! I'm still pinching myself to see if I am really awake! Friday was so crazy busy, but soooo much fun. I'll post more pics as I get them! In the photos above are Dr. Biggerstaff (Radar meteorologist), Dr. Howie Blustien (my hero, tornado scientist), Mike Bettes (The Weather Channel).

I had fun at the May 3, 1999 Tornado Memorial. It was a sad day to remember, but I learned a bunch! I also met many wonderful people that are helping me with my platform. Thank you to Rick Smith, Keli Tarp, Mike Foster, David Andra, and Dr. Kevin Kloesel! All of them from the National Weather Service and OU School of Meteorology.