The Instruments

Clock with Atomic Time, Hygrometer and Thermometer

Receives radio waves from Colorado that tell the official time based on the official US atomic clock, so the time is always accurate and it changes automatically with daylight savings
Has a thermometer and hygrometer built-in

This uses a tube filled with liquid that expands and contracts to measure the temperature
Older instruments used mercury as the liquid in the tubes, but mercury is dangerous, so new, safer alternatives are used
Students can measure the temperature in both Celcius and Fahrenheit

This scientific-grade thermometer gives a more accurate temperature reading and is shielded from solar radiation by the Stevenson Screen
This thermometer measures temperature using a metallic coil which expands or contracts based on temperature
Made in Germany

Hygrometer measures humidity
This scientific instrument is called a human hair hygrometer because it uses expansion and contraction of a real human hair in moisture to move the gauge
Made in Germany

This instrument measures the air pressure
By looking at the changes in air pressure, the barometer can be used to tell is there is a low pressure or high pressure system moving in
Low pressure correlates with rain and stormy weather and high pressure tends to be sunny and clear

This is the official rain gauge of the CoCoRaHS organization, an official group affiliated with the government that measures precipitation
Measures rain down to an accuracy of a hundredth of an inch. For example, on the right you can see there was exactly 0.94 inches of rain
The rain gauge should be checked daily and emptied after every rainfall or snowfall in order to get an accurate measure of daily rainfall.
Rain under one inch can be measured without pouring out the rain gauge, if rain is over one inch rain must be poured out and measured. Therefore, each class will not be able to view the rain gauge when the rain is over one inch if a previous class has already poured the rain out. However, if they only pour out the first inch the remaining decimal amount will still show.

The wind cups catch the wind and it causes the anemometer to move
You can measure the relative wind speed by counting the number of revolutions per 15 seconds (count the number of times the red cup spins around)
You can calibrate the revolutions per minute to an approximate wind speed by comparing the data from the electronic anemometer

This instrument uses the same principles as the wind cups but it contains a fan blade instead that is electronically measured and converted into a numerical wind speed measurement
The fan spins if it is pointed in the direction of the wind, and the anemometer gives the accurate wind speed in mph or m/s
You can figure out which direction to hold the anemometer by looking at the wind vane

This instrument is used for measuring the direction of the wind
As the wind travels around the arrow, it orients itself so that the point of the arrow points to where the wind is coming from
This also shows North, East, South, and West directions so you can tell if the wind is blowing from the Southeast or the West, etc.

This instrument measures the direction you are pointing (i.e. 20°NNE)
The compass can also be a tool to figure out wind direction by orienting yourself in the wind with the digital anemometer and then using the compass to figure out what direction the wind is coming from
This instrument can also be used to track the position of the sun throughout the day

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