Summative Evaluation: Bringing CoCoRaHS to the Central Great Plains: An Informal Science Education Project for Rural Communities

This National Science Foundation Informal Science Education project was a "Citizen Science" weather and climate observing program focused on the Central Great Plains region of the U.S. Volunteers of all ages, primarily self selected, equipped with simple and low cost instruments for measuring rain, hail and snow, were recruited, trained and equipped to help measure and report precipitation. This region of the country is well known for its extreme and highly variable climate with strong seasonal cycles, dramatic day to day weather changes, drought vulnerability, as well as the propensity for infrequent but very extreme storms including some of the worst hail and blizzards of the entire country. The premise of this project was that through active participation in observing and reporting rain,hail and snow that participants would become more familiar and appreciative of their variable climate while also providing much needed scientific data for the scientific and natural resources communities serving their areas. This project was evaluated by Dr. Leonard Albright, Senior Research Associate from the Center for the Advancement of Student Learning at Colorado State University. Graduate and undergraduate students assisted along with a local professional survey organization. Key components of the evaluation process included participant inventory and tracking, precipitation data compilation (providing information on the duration and spatial distribution as well as data quality provided by CoCoRaHS citizen volunteers), participant surveys, and focused interviews with a randomly selected group of several dozen participants.