Field Trips & Guest Speakers

Field Trips

Randolph College

Students were given a tour of Randolph College's Organic Garden by Riley Lorson, the Sustainability and Special Projects Coordinator at Randolph College. While the class was there, they met chickens, learned about sustainable gardens, and discussed the benefits of green spaces for the promotion of mental health. Students were able to see how many branches of science connected within the garden and the care of the chickens, highlighting how interdisciplinary science can be. This characteristic of science, especially natural science, is explored in the Eyes on the Skies class, which covers how meteorology relates to other branches of science, including biology, physics, climatology, chemistry, and others.

The next stop at Randolph College was the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, where Laura McManus, the Curator of Education, showed the class around the museum. Students worked in pairs to analyze cloud types and weather phenomena found in various works of art. By considering artist technique, style, as well as distinct features found in the art, students were able to perceive details about the climate, season, and weather that were not apparent at first glance. This exercise was fun and a good practice of cloud identifying skills!

Students visited Randolph College's Natural History department and looked at rocks, fossils, and preserved specimen. The tour, led by Dr. Ron Gettinger, the Professor of Biology at Randolph College, also took students through Dr. Gettinger's lab, where he is studying fossils and a variety of other topics. The specimens of the collection are often use for study and also can provide information about past climates.

Every other year, Randolph College puts together a Greek play that follows in the methods the Greeks would have used to put on their own performances. Dr. Cohen, Professor of Classics and Director of the Center for Ancient Drama, explained that the performances stay true to Greek methods by using of minimal actors who play multiple parts, using masks to visually display characters, and through techniques and materials used for the masks. The Eyes on the Skies class learned from Dr. Cohen how the production uses STEM technology to create the Greek masks, including taking digital scans of actors' faces and 3D printing models of actors' faces. Dr. Cohen

Apple Orchard Mountain

The Eyes on the Skies class hiked together on the Apple Orchard Mountain trail, a section of the expansive Appalachian Trail. The hike was two miles in total length and covered a range of rocky and sometimes steep ground. At the top of the mountain, the class was able to observe a Doppler radar installment, one of many that are used to observe weather by sending out and receiving radio waves. The mountaintop also gave students the ability to observe weather from a new vantage point and appreciate the wonder of nature all around us.

Guest Speakers

Hartzel Gillespie

As a Ph.D. Candidate at Pennsylvania State University's Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, Hart Gillespie conducted research on the climate of Mars. He came to talk to the Eyes on the Skies and Dirt Under the Fingernails SRGS classes about his research. We discussed how Mars' climate can be similar and dissimilar to that of Earth and how different satellites and rovers are used to gain data about the atmosphere and surface conditions. Mr. Gillespie also covered how the data from those sources can be analyzed through assimilation to form models of Mars' climate.

Brooklyn Ford, Gabe Quintero, and Michellé Starks

These three students are all Undergraduate Summer Research Associates of Randolph College working with Dr. Warren this summer. They are involved in two main projects, one dealing with surveying old-growth forests, and the other heat mapping the city of Lynchburg. For the old-growth forest project, Mr. Quintero and Miss Ford measured the sizes of trees within specific areas of old-growth forests and also talked to the owners of such forests, working with them to learn more about the care of these forests. Miss Starks worked on the heat mapping project, which consisted of identifying where "hot spots" would be within the city and then collecting data with mobile sensors during a heat wave. This data will be used to address community resilience regarding heat.

Dr. Henry-Stone

Dr. Henry-Stone is the Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Sustainability and Director of Sustainability at the University of Lynchburg and also the Interim Director of the Claytor Nature Study Center in Bedford, VA. During her time with the Eyes on the Skies class, Dr. Henry-Stone talked to us about the University of Lynchburg's sustainability actions, especially the ongoing College Lake Dam Removal Project. She also took us through a trail on campus to talk to us about other projects, like a garden students maintain on campus and ways the University is trying to use solar power or maintain good water management.

George Flickinger

George Flickinger is the Chief Meteorologist at WSET Station ABC13 in Lynchburg, VA, though he once was a meteorologist and storm chaser in Oklahoma. He talked to the Eyes on the Skies class about his experiences as a storm chaser, recalling some of his most thrilling tales, including a time that he was within 100 yards of a tornado! He also spoke about severe weather and how dangerous wind phenomena, like straight line wind, down bursts, and tornadoes, are formed. The class learned how to spot a tornado on radar and also how these methods are important to ensuring the safety of anyone who might be in the path of a tornado. Mr. Flickinger also spoke about how the city of Lynchburg sits in a relative radar dark zone where the data received about Lynchburg weather is often not as detailed or useful as in places closer to Doppler radar stations.

Jeane Wallace and Tony Cristaldi

These meteorologists spoke with the Eyes on the Skies class about their journeys through various branches of meteorology and how they came to be in their current positions with the National Weather Service. Miss Wallace is stationed in the northeast where she serves as the Senior Hydrologist at a NWS station. She monitors water levels around the Great Lakes and also helps to create forecasts for water levels throughout the area. Mr. Cristaldi works for the NWS in Florida as an Aviation and Satellite Applications Program Leader. He works to forecast weather that affects aviation implements and uses a variety of satellite tools to do so. The class learned about both meteorologists' lines of work and about many of the data applications they use in their line of work.

Matt Ordower

A native of Canada, Matt Ordower has a strong hobby of storm chasing. He spoke to the Eyes on the Skies class about how a storm chasing season generally works, including how storm chasers choose where to be at what time and how they know when they are safe. Mr. Ordower also spoke about the ingredients needed to create a tornado, and how the United States has the best layout to achieve Tornado Alley, and thus is the prime location for storm chasers, including himself.

Gavin Pretor-Pinney

The Eyes on the Skies class was able to have a virtual meeting with Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the global Cloud Appreciation Society. Each student submitted a photograph of phenomena or clouds they had observed and Mr. Pretor-Pinney talked about how those phenomena or clouds were formed, explaining the physics, chemistry, and all other aspects of formation. He also shared rare and unusual phenomena and cloud formations from other sources. Other cloud ambassadors of the CAS from around the world also joined the meeting and briefly shared what weather is like where they live.

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