EECCOA and MERITO Academy in-class lectures

Between Nov. 3, 2016 and Jan. 23, 2017 MERITO Foundation staff visited and presented at each of the 52 participating classrooms to over 1600 students. Because the way to teach is rapidly evolving, i.e. chalkboards have evolved into interactive whiteboards and the traditional globe is now staying behind, we demonstrate Earth processes to students participating in the EECCOA program using the Magic Planet as a teaching aide. It is a portable display that combines the power of 3D multimedia visualization, real-time satellite data and modeled data of processes such as ocean circulation, carbon dioxide concentrations, and carbon emissions per capita among many others. We used 3D watershed models to demonstrate urban runoff and how to prevent it to the 782 younger students participating in the MERITO Academy program, and slide shows of the beautiful marine resources of the Santa Barbara Channel region.