Fairview/Miss Jewell students study Central Texas storms

By JULY KELLEY

Special to Leader-Press

Rainy weather is the perfect time for Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary School 5th grade science teacher Jeffery Shores to conduct a lab that illustrates how storms get started. Shores reviewed tornado procedures and explained why satellite television goes out in a big storm. His message was timely as it preceded the winds that whipped through Central Texas and tornado warnings that were held throughout Coryell County the following weekend.

“My goal was for students to understand high and low pressure systems, especially when watching the local weather on television and that the sun is responsible for the heating of the atmosphere and powering the water cycle,” Shores said.

Students used a balloon to visualize pressure and density as related to air masses with different temperatures. First, the students heated beakers by filling them with hot water, then discarded the water and quickly placed a balloon over the top of the beaker before plunging it in to cold water. The balloon was sucked into the beaker. When the beaker is moved, the air is cooled. Cold air needs less space causing the balloon to deflate. The students then reversed the process by cooling beakers and plunging them into hot water to expand the balloon. The air inside the beaker is warmed because hot air needs more space and the balloon inflates. The mass of air remains constant inside the beaker in both experiments proving that warm air requires more space and is less dense than cool air.

Shores explained what meteorologists and storm chasers do before having the students experiment in the lab with air pressure.

“Meteorology is the study of the Earth's atmosphere on a daily basis, which is weather, and comparing it over a long length of time, which is climate,” Shores said. “Storm chasing is a very dangerous job, and they are mainly volunteers that report back to the meteorologist, helping track the dangerous storm. You must seek safety during a storm."

Fifth grader Caleb Prestridge thought being a meteorologist seemed cool because you learn about space, the atmosphere, and the weather.

“Before today, I did not know that hot air meeting cold air caused storms,” Prestridge said. “I like doing all the hands-on experiments in the lab. It helps me understand what is going on.”

Fifth grader Daniel Smith knew from the experiment that meteorology was not a career path for him.

“Being a storm chaser seems dangerous, which some people may like, but I would choose a safer job,” Smith said. “I am interested in robotics. I am thinking about doing my next gifted education project on robotics. I got interested in the field because I saw a book in Mr. Shores room about all the different types: animatronics, cybernetics, and bionics.”