audiences using a field campaign

There are growing concerns among the nation’s leading science organizations about the American public’s lack of scientific literacy, participation in science, and understanding of the value of scientific research. Coupled with these concerns is the need to improve the communication of science and research to our diverse populations, and to include them in the scientific process. As these concerns extend to atmospheric processes, the effects could be magnified: the atmosphere dynamically changes from calm weather conditions to extreme high impact events that significantly affect community services and decision-making processes. However, efforts are under way to address these concerns by bridging the gap between science and community service. In recent years, research field campaigns have emerged as effective tools for communicating science and engaging science participation. They help to facilitate the understanding of atmospheric processes by the public, and their collected data sets are potentially useful for formal and informal science education and communication. Through funding from the National Science Foundation, campaigns such as T-PARC are being used to develop instructional materials to improve the public’s scientific knowledge, foster science literacy an