Wild Weather exhibit reveals the science of extreme weather
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Tuesday, October 11, 2016, 7:28 PM - A new exhibit has swept in at the Ontario Science Centre, immersing visitors - young and old alike - in the science and excitement of extreme weather, while highlighting the role that climate change is playing in these events.
Weather is one of our most commonly-shared experiences in this world. It fascinates us, frustrates us, and at times, scares us.
Wild Weather, a new, 600 square-metre interactive exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre, celebrates weather in all its forms, presenting a variety of stations for fans of weather, of all ages, to discover what goes into making weather happen.
According to the Ontario Science Centre:
Wild Weather invites visitors to delve into severe weather science, discover cutting-edge technology and investigate the stories of scientists, forecasters and passionate enthusiasts. From thunderstorms to summer heat waves, hurricanes to blizzards, visitors can uncover the science behind the weather around us, gain a better understanding of its connection to climate change and learn how new discoveries are unravelling many of weather's mysteries.
Dance up a storm. Watch a lightning bolt happen in super slow-motion, tracking its every kink and turn as it seeks to connect cloud and ground. Produce a tornado in a bottle.
Investigate how heat waves impact on our health, how lightning forms and how to prepare for extreme weather.
Just three stations in this amazing 600 square metre exhibit, that combine fun, fascination and education to teach us about weather and its extremes. Credit: Ontario Science Centre
Hear from real scientists, through interactive displays and during the special programs the Ontario Science Centre has planned, about the perils and importance of storm chasing, about the science of severe weather, and about how climate change is impacting on these events, driving them to new extremes.
"Severe weather events have become more frequent and extreme impacting our communities, our infrastructure and our lives," Dr. Maurice Bitran, CEO and Chief Science Officer of the Ontario Science Centre, said at a special media preview on October 5, 2016. "Wild Weather will not only immerse visitors in extreme weather events, but will start a public dialogue about climate change and its impacts."
Check out the Wild Weather exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre, open daily from October 5 to January 7, and get even more from their Science Engagement Programs, scheduled throughout the exhibit timeline.
GLOBE Observer Experiment
Want to participate in some cool citizen science?
The Ontario Science Centre is encouraging the public to participate in a global project, to record and report their local cloud coverage, using the GLOBE Observer app. The app is available for both iPhone and Android, and once signed on with an email address, users can snap pictures of their clouds, which will be uploaded into the global database, for comparison to satellite data collected from orbit.
The project runs from October 1 to 22, so there is still time to share your observations and contribute to some great scientific research!
#WildWeatherTO
To read about others' experiences with the exhibit, or to share your own experiences, check out the hashtag #WildWeatherTO on Twitter.
