You can ask your teacher for them, or buy them from Amazon. You can also Ask Us for help if you need it. Make sure you learn how to use them correctly! Hold the IRT at arm's length and point it straight down, click the button, then read it. Make sure to record your data in degrees Celsius. For the Air Temperature Thermometer, hold it at arm's length in your shadow for 3 minutes, then read the value. Record your data on the GLOBE Atmosphere Investigation Surface Temperature Data Sheet or in the GLOBE Observer App under Atmosphere.

If you don't want to use a hard copy data sheet and a clipboard while you collect your data, then the GLOBE Observer App is for you! It is available for smart phones and tablets. It's fast and easy to use! If your teacher created a Student Account for you, use that user name and password to log in to the app after you download it. Otherwise, you can create your own account. You can also create and join GLOBE Teams to challenge each other to collect more data!

Make sure you collect data from the same cover type, don't mix cover types! Collect 9 Surface Temperature data points from at least two different cover types so you can compare them. Some suggestions for cover types are: a grassy field, an asphalt parking lot and a concrete driveway or sidewalk. You can also collect data from sports fields, natural and artificial. Don't forget to also record Air Temperature and Clouds data at each site!

If you don't use the GLOBE Observer App, you need to write your data on the GLOBE Program's Surface Temperature Data Sheet. Make sure you fill in all of the top information about your site. You can just record the time in Local time and note that on your sheet (you don't need to use Universal Time). The second page of the sheet is for recording your Clouds observations. Need help identifying clouds? Check out the GLOBE Program's Cloud Chart!

If you use the GLOBE Observer App, when you are connected to WiFi, make sure you choose to upload your data to GLOBE. If you do not do this, it will not get into the GLOBE Program's system. If you do not use the App, go to GLOBE's Data Entry page to enter your data, using your filled-in Surface Temperature Data Sheet. You can also Ask us for help if you need it! Your teacher can help, too!

Once your data is entered into the GLOBE website, you can view it on the GLOBE Visualization System! It's a map-based website that can display all of the data recorded for GLOBE around the world. You can also analyze your data and share it in a presentation if you want! Learn all about how to conduct a Student Research Project. When you are finished, you can upload it to the GLOBE Mission EARTH Student Research Projects page!