{"id":4141,"date":"2013-07-18T09:37:14","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T14:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/?p=4141"},"modified":"2013-07-18T09:38:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-18T14:38:26","slug":"majoring-in-meteorology-at-grandparents-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/articles\/4141","title":{"rendered":"Majoring in Meteorology at Grandparents University"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a unique opportunity for grandparents and their grandkids to spend time together during the summer and have fun learning on campus. It\u2019s all part of <a title=\"Grandparents University\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uwalumni.com\/grandparents\">Grandparents University<\/a> (GPU) , a series of two-day programs in which grandparents and their grandkids participate in hands-on activities in their \u201cmajor.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4142\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_sat_model_565.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4142\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4142\" alt=\"Grandparents University 2007\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_sat_model_565.png\" width=\"565\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_sat_model_565.png 565w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_sat_model_565-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_sat_model_565-500x265.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Granddaughter shows off the satellite model she constructed with her Grandfather (2007). Photo credit: SSEC<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Created by the Wisconsin Alumni Association and now in its 13<sup>th<\/sup> year, GPU offers roughly two dozen majors, including one in Meteorology developed by Margaret Mooney, Director of the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Office for the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), an institute within the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC). This year is SSEC\u2019s ninth year for hosting the Meteorology major.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next two days (July 18-19) 28 grandparents and grandkids will visit the Atmospheric Oceanic and Space Sciences building for a peek at the world of satellite meteorology. This year\u2019s agenda is full of activities with very few lectures. After featuring a series of short presentations in the 2005 debut of the meteorology major, Mooney realized how important it is to engage participants and have them play a more active role.<\/p>\n<p>So what exactly can they expect from the Meteorology major? Participants will:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4143\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_balloon_launch_sm.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4143\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4143\" alt=\"The sky's the limit! 2008 GPU Balloon Launch. Photo credit: SSEC\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_balloon_launch_sm.png\" width=\"301\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_balloon_launch_sm.png 301w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_balloon_launch_sm-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sky&#8217;s the limit! 2008 GPU Balloon Launch. Photo credit: SSEC<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Build an anemometer to measure wind speed;<\/li>\n<li>Make a solar bracelet to understand the electromagnetic spectrum (which will help explain how weather satellite instruments gather data);<\/li>\n<li>Build a model of the Suomi NPP weather satellite \u2013 an activity led by Carissa Bunge, a UW-Madison college student;<\/li>\n<li>Experience a weather balloon launch with SSEC researcher Erik Olson;<\/li>\n<li>View weather satellite imagery on a 3-D globe with SSEC outreach specialist Patrick Rowley;<\/li>\n<li>Learn about early studies of snowflake crystals with SSEC Librarian Jean Phillips;<\/li>\n<li>Take a virtual field trip to Antarctica with SSEC researcher Lee Welhouse;<\/li>\n<li>And more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most of the participants in this year\u2019s Meteorology major are from Wisconsin, but Mooney noted that a few are from out of state. In some cases the grandkids or grandparents fly in for the event.<\/p>\n<p>Mooney described GPU as a perfect opportunity for both generations. \u201cGrandparents really appreciate seeing their grandkids. And the grandkids enjoy the whole college experience.\u201d Everyone stays together in the dorms, and participants who return to GPU in later years to work on additional majors can earn a degree; after four years of participation they can earn a Bachelor\u2019s degree and after six years they can earn a Master\u2019s. Some grandkids have even earned PhDs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe share what we do with alums who don\u2019t know <a href=\"http:\/\/library.ssec.wisc.edu\/SuomiWebsite\/\">who [Verner] Suomi is<\/a>, who don\u2019t know that this is the satellite capitol of the world.\u201d And with the grandkids, they are reaching out to future college students\/future scientists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGPU is one of the most enjoyable and effective outreach events of the year,\u201d declared Mooney. She noted how gratifying it is to reach two important audiences at once \u2013 groups that are \u201chappy to be together<em>.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4144\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_group_photo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4144\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4144\" alt=\"2012 GPU group photo. Photo credit: SSEC\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_group_photo.png\" width=\"565\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_group_photo.png 565w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_group_photo-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/07\/gpu_group_photo-500x218.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">2012 GPU group photo. Photo credit: SSEC<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>by Leanne Avila<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Never Too Late (or Early) to Major in Meteorology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-articles","tag-cimss"],"acf":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4141"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4149,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions\/4149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}