Our Northwest

Pacific Science Center shares at-home wildfire prevention lessons for your scientists-in-training

August 25, 2020 by PEMCO Insurance

With 'wildfire season' upon us, check out these learning resources to help students understand the risks and stay safe.

We can't believe a year has passed since we attended Pacific Science Center's Wildfire exhibit, a collaborative installation that brought attention to the reality and impacts of wildfire in our region through art, interactives and conversation.

The exhibit addressed questions about our region's common wildfire hazards and smoky summer skies, like: Why do some parts of Washington have frequent wildfires? Why does the smoke from distant wildfires sometimes hover over Seattle? What exactly is a wildfire, anyway?

Reflecting on past years' "wildfire seasons" and a dry and warm summer ahead, we reached out to Pacific Science Center for their help with learning resources for the budding young scientists in our households.

Looking for a lesson or two to keep the curiosity going this summer?

Here are a few of the resources PacSci shared to help students understand the risks of wildfire and how to stay safe.

  • Meteorologists in training: Kids can practice being a meteorologist with the Wildfire Watch at-home activity by taking weather measurements, then predicting the fire danger for their area. With explorations for different K-8 grade levels, the activity guide walks students through predicting fire danger and steps for preventing wildfires.

  • Decoding the Weather Machine: Recently, earth has been experiencing an increase in extreme weather events like drought and wildfire, and many scientists agree – something's up with the weather. Learn a few of the reasons why in the 2-hour NOVA documentary Decoding the Weather Machine, available for free on PBS.
  • Wildfires, weather and … satellites? Discover how we use satellites to monitor and help fight wildfires in this 7-minute Facebook Live video.

Thank you PacSci for helping us keep our at-home learners inspired and excited about science!

Looking for more to explore? Check out PacSci's library of K-8 lessons, at-home activities and experiments on their Curiosity at Home page – tag @PacSci and #curiosityathome to share.

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