Location:
Maine

Description:
The Gaia Crossroads project is an innovative program using satellite remote sensing in K-12 classrooms. This progressive program captures the interest of elementary students and sustains their interest through high school. Using the imagery provided, students are able to study and interpret satellite images of their local communities. After the initial focus on the local environment, the program expands to include images of a broader geographic coverage-the Gulf of Maine and the North Atlantic for studying oceanography, weather satellite images for studying meteorology, and images of tropical rain forests for studying global ecosystems. The project provides ongoing teacher training and technical support.

The Gaia Crossroads Project's future plans include conducting a three-year pilot project in Maine to demonstrate that students can produce an accurate land use/land cover map of their state that will prove of value to state government. Another future plan is for a two-year pilot program to develop a new approach to a comprehensive study of the water cycle. Students and teachers will use NASA data and other imaging products to follow a drop of water from the time it falls as rain until it once again becomes a raindrop. The protocols, training modules, and strategies developed in these pilots would become models for students and teachers in other states.

The Gaia Crossroads Project Teachers Guidebook for Using Satellite Imagery in the Classroom and Community is available through Bigelow Laboratory. It contains background information on the project, a remote-sensing primer, hands-on tutorials, ideas for setting up the program in a classroom, over sixty activities written and classroom tested by teachers in the Gaia Crossroads Project, and an extensive listing of resources.

URL:
http://www.bigelow.org/~gaia/menu.html

Organization:
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Contact:
Cynthia B. Erickson, Project Director, The Gaia Crossroads Project, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, P.O. Box 475, McKown Point, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575-0475; Phone: (207) 633-9600; Fax: (207) 633-9641; Email: gaiaxroads@bigelow.org

Education Level:
Kindergarten-Grade 4
Grades 5-8
Grades 9-12

Subject:
Geography
Meteorology
Oceanography - Biological
Oceanography -Physical
Remote Sensing
Water Cycle

Program type:
Curriculum Development/Support
Educational Technology
Teacher Training (In-service)

Date Added to teachearth.com:
5/1/00