Space Science and Engineering Center University of Wisconsin-Madison

On Sunday, 06 January 2012, the day before the official opening of the AMS Convention, the 12th Annual WeatherFest science fair drew an excited crowd of weather enthusiasts, all eager to experience dozens of interactive meteorology, oceanography and related science exhibits.

Louis Uccelini, Director of the National Weather Service, welcomes the excited crowd to WeatherFest.

Right in the center of the action, Tom Whittaker, Patrick Rowley, Rick Kohrs, and Margaret Mooney (not pictured) ran the SSEC booth, introducing fascinated children and their parents to the world of satellite meteorology, helping them navigate several SSEC-created, weather-related applets on kiosk-mode touch monitors, giving a satellite’s eye view of the world via the Science on a Sphere 3D globe, and fielding questions from both young and old.

Tom Whittaker imparts tornado-making skills to a next-generation scientist.