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This Wondercast explores the weather and clouds in the fall in the garden.

Each Wondercast time-lapse also includes 10 scientist questions. Kids earn scientist points for each correct answer. These questions were designed for kids who are playing the Wondercast on their own. They help focus attention on how to use the interface and the kinds of information and relationships that can be discovered in a 4-H Children's Garden Wondercast.

If a teacher or parent is present, kids can be encouraged to ask their own questions. By carefully exploring Wondercasts, kids can engage in their own science discoveries. They will have new questions, explore the Wondercast to discover the answers and explore how weather changes might be related to their questions. In this way, Wondercasts become powerful learning experiences that will encourage kids to wonder and look more closely at the amazing changes that occur around them everyday.

Use this Wondercast as a starting point to have kids look more closely at the sky and weather in the fall.

  • Encourage them to ask additional questions such as: “What do the clouds at my school or home look like each day?” “What was the warmest day at our school during November?” “What was the coldest day or night?”
  • Carefully observe the weather at your school or home to discover the answers.
  • You can also get local weather information (on-line or from your local weather service or TV station) that you can compare to the Wondercast weather information. Encourage kids to carefully watch the clouds and discover how they change from day to day.
  • Can you discover any relationships between the clouds you see and weather (temperature, rain and/or wind)?
  • Can you discover any other patterns between clouds and weather or what you see the plants and trees doing?

These are just a few ideas to get you and your kids going. You take it from here – ask lots of questions and be sure to have fun discovering the answers. As you work with the 4-H Children's Garden Wondercasts and create your own explorations, let us know what you are doing. When you come up with interesting Wondercast questions and answers, or if you invent interesting ways to teach using the 4-H Children's Garden Wondercast, please email us! Send email to “Dr. Norm” Lownds, lownds@msu.edu.

For kids (and teachers) using Wondercasts as part of classroom explorations, written questions and answer sheets and associations with National Science Standards are available by request. (Send email to garden@commtechlab.msu.edu.)

Below you'll find a quick view for parents and teachers of the QUESTIONS and OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS for the Fall Clouds timelapse.

Questions:

  1. How many days can you see jet streams?
  2. Which was the warmest day?
  3. How many days was there snow on the globe?
  4. What was the windiest day?
  5. How often were these wondercast pictures taken?
  6. Which day had the fewest clouds at 10:20 am?
  7. Which day was the longest?
  8. Why did the snow on November 23 melt?
  9. What time can you first see the snow melting on November 23rd?
  10. On what day can you best see sunrise color in the sky?

How to Operate the Cypress Tree Fall Wondercast
(Butterfly Reporter)

November 20 to November 26
32 image on most days captured every 10 minutes between 8am and 1pm

There are MANY pictures for each day. 

 Watch the full timelapse by clicking on the PLAY leaf. 

Move FORWARD or BACKWARD one step at a time by clicking the plus or minus leaf. 

 This arrow shows where you are in the timelapse.  You can click and drag the arrow to move around in time. 

Click on a calendar date to play to that day.

You can also click on a day above the time lapse bar to play that day.

Look closely at each picture. 

 You can see what time it is and whether it is day (with the sun)
or night (with the moon). 

See how much wind blew during the whole day in miles per day.

See how much rain fell during the whole day in inches per day. 

See the high and low temperatures for each day.

You can answer questions to earn scientist points.

 Click on the Next leaf when you are ready for the first question. 

You'll see your cloud scientist score near the top left of the screen. 

When the hint leaf appears you can click on it for hints about how to answer questions  Have fun and good luck.

Hey psssst!  You can also use the keyboard to move about the Wondercast.  Use the spacebar to play and pause.  Use the right and left arrows to move forward and backward.

Click on HQ to return to the Wondercast introduction, where you can choose a different timelapse.  Click on HELP to replay the help.

View other Wondercast Information for Parents and Teachers:

Jump to general parent and teacher wondercast information, or see information specific to the other timelapses:

Ginko Tree

Cypress Tree

Sweet Potato Leaves

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