Bringing NASA Earth Science Data in the Classroom: NASA GPM Mentorship Program – Educator Track

The NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) Mentorship Program from 2023 hosts a spin-off program dedicated to teachers and educators. A GPM expert connects with Italian school teachers to learn about the water cycle, climate change and precipitation through the lens of the GPM mission. The main focus of the project is to provide information and tools to teachers in order to be able to pass the scientific knowledge to their students. After three lectures about water cycle, weather and climate, and the GPM mission and its applications, the teachers aided by the GPM expert develop a practical project with the students. The project integrates local pedagogic and administrative realities by aligning with national curricula, addressing teacher participation and career development requirements, and incorporating topics of local and professional interest.The project is multidisciplinary and focused on precipitation, from measurement using rain gauges deployed in the school yard, to data analysis comparing measured data with GPM satellite retrievals. Classroom discussions on precipitation trends and changes lead to climate change awareness and link this project to other programs on sustainability developed by the schools. This paper will provide an outline of the program, an overview of the practical projects led by the teachers and links to material available in Italian and English ready to use in the classroom. The program is in constant development, including expansion to other countries, to make educational material available in different languages to reduce language barriers and increase exposure opportunities of Earth observation data to younger generations.