Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention

Episode 53, 10/9/23

Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention

Michael Notaro with the University of Wisconsin-Madison is teaching Wisconsin school children the similarities in snowflakes to share the wonder of nature and information about the Great Lakes climate, but also to expand an international environmental database.

Darien Becker, environmental educator with Welty Environmental Center (right), instructs two interns from Beloit Memorial High School on how to identify snowflakes using the Snow-GLOBE protocol. Image credit: Aaron Wilson, Welty Environmental Center

An “ordinary dendritic” snowflake crystal. This means it has six branches. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW- Madison

Michael Notaro. Image credit: University of Wisconsin-Madison

A plate snowflake with simple extensions. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW-Madison

Thanks to our guest

Michael Notaro, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Credits

Marie Zhuikov | Host

Senior Science Communicator

What I do at Sea Grant

Marie writes about Great Lakes water issues, Sea Grant activities and research. She also works on podcasts, oversees the Wisconsin Sea Grant blog, and takes photos. She works in collaboration with program scientists, outreach specialists and institute staff to build water science literacy. Prior to joining Wisconsin Sea Grant in 2012, Marie worked for Minnesota Sea Grant for 15 years.