Mount Washington Observatory Launches Storm Scouts: Extreme Weather Camp, Offering Unforgettable Educational Experience for Local Youth

North Conway, NH, August 27, 2024 –While Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) is well-known for its staffed weather station atop New England’s highest peak, the nonprofit organization’s valley-based educators have seen immense growth in weather and climate education programs. These include in-school, after-school, and field trip programs to the summit of Mount Washington.

In August, MWOBS educators piloted their very first summer camp, Storm Scouts: Extreme Weather Camp.

“Storm Scouts was so amazing – we were so excited to be able to offer summer programming for the first time in many years and be able to provide an educational, no-cost resource for the local youth,” Brian Fitzgerald, MWOBS Director of Education, said. “The campers’ direct access to these resources and summit meteorologists made for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Several Storm Scouts called this camp the highlight of their summer. Generous support from the Dorr Family Foundation, Conway School District’s Project SUCCEED, and other donors made it possible for MWOBS to offer this camp at no cost to youth.

The two sessions of Storm Scouts were based out of MWOBS’s administrative offices in North Conway, with several trips to the summit. The week started with an orientation, learning the basics of Earth’s circulation and atmosphere, the different components of both weather and climate, the history of the Observatory, and its present work. Campers even built their own weather toolkits with demo weather instruments, handheld Kestrel instruments to measure wind speed as well as cloud guides, binoculars to identify visibility markers on uniquely clear days, a weather journal to guide their activities throughout the week, and disposable cameras to capture their favorite moments of camp – without a cellphone.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday’s adventures all led to MWOBS’s summit weather station atop Mount Washington and covered the themes of summit orientation, career day, and graduation. As a welcome to the summit, they embarked on a scavenger hunt to learn about different buildings and the people who live and work on the summit, and they took a hike to Ball Crag. They even befriended MWOBS’s resident summit cat Nimbus.

Thursday led them on a career journey, during which they were able to interview summit staff members, learn about the forecasting processes, and even publish their own group broadcast (check out the MWOBS Facebook page to view their forecasts!). Friday finished out the week strong with an awesome celebration trip up the Cog Railway – thank you to Cog brakemen Jacob and Terry for amazing and educational trips up and down the historic railway!

Both Wednesdays featured special guests from White Mountain Science, Inc. (WMSI) and Tin Mountain Conservation Center. WMSI added value to the week with engineering, design, and weather-related coding activities. Using data storytelling, the Storm Scouts created stop motion films focused on extreme weather events, built weather preparation-related robotics, and completed other engineering challenges. Tin Mountain led our Scouts on a Whitaker Woods adventure with games, plant identification, and leaf collection for artistic leaf-rubbings. Many of the Scouts’ highlights of their naturalist day were checking out some hides of animals local to our eco/climate zone and catching and catching and identifying bugs in the nearby woods.

One Storm Scout’s parent was “astonished by the wealth of information [her son] was learning. Every day, the ride home after camp was like a mini lesson about [Mount] Washington for us.” The campers recalled that “it was the best week of my summer because we were always keeping busy and having fun.” Scouts left the camp with lots of new friendships, enthusiasm for weather, and hopes to return to weather camp.

Several Storm Scouts called this camp the highlight of their summer, and it could not have been possible without all our generous partners and donors. Thank you to Project SUCCEED coordinator Tim Neugebauer and staff member Annie LaMountain for supporting registration, transportation, daily activities, and more. MWOBS’s partners at the Mt. Washington Auto Road, Mount Washington Cog Railway, and Mount Washington State Park all helped support summit transportation and operations for our Scouts.

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About Mount Washington Observatory:

Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) is a private, nonprofit, member-supported institution with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. It serves this mission by maintaining a weather station on the summit of Mount Washington, performing weather and climate research, conducting innovative science education programs, and interpreting the heritage of the Mount Washington region. Our summit facility is located within Mount Washington State Park. For more information, call 603-356-2137 or visit mountwashington.org.

Contact:

Ellen Estabrook, Communications Manager

(603) 356-2137, ext. 223