Barnard

Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science

Gabe Allen — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:30:00 +0000

Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science Gabe Allen Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:30

Gabe Allen

The ‘Dream Team’ checks out increment borers, used to gather tree core samples in the field, in the Ecohydrology lab at INSTAAR. All photos by Gabe Allen.

Since October, students at Westview Middle School in Longmont have met with INSTAAR scientists nearly every month through the Earth Explorers program. The goal of the program is to connect local kids with scientists doing impactful work. Holly Barnard, an INSTAAR faculty fellow and Earth Explorers participant, looks forward to the visits for months ahead.

“When I was in middle school, I didn’t even know that earth science was a career path that I could take,” she said. “I really like sharing my research and the story of how I became a scientist.”

INSTAAR faculty fellow Holly Barnard takes Earth Explorers participants on a tour of the Ecohydrology Lab.

This year, Barnard is sharing her science with the self-described “Dream Team” — Adriel, Everett, Noah and Ben. Each member of the quartet took part in conducting interviews, filming lab spaces and script writing for a video that they are now editing.

The Dream Team met with Barnard for the first time over Zoom back in October. A couple of weeks later they brainstormed video ideas over lunch with Barnard at the CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Center for Community. Then, in November, they toured her lab and filmed an interview.

Noah was apprehensive about the program at first, but ended up appreciating his time at INSTAAR.

“Originally I didn’t want to do Earth Explorers, but then I found out it was about science. I was like ‘yeah, I could try that,” he said. “All the stuff we’ve done, like walking around campus and learning about trees, has been fun.”

Before leaving for the day, the Dream Team toured INSTAAR’s Stable Isotope Lab, where lab manager Bruce Vaughn showed them an ice core that traveled all the way from Greenland to Colorado. For Ben, it was a highlight.

“I thought it was really cool getting to go in the walk-in freezer and getting to see the different ice chunks and learning about how they read those,” Ben said. “It was just really cool getting to see all of the different tools.”

Now that the laboratory tours and field trips are in the rearview, it's time to get to work. This spring, 10 Earth Explorers groups, including the Dream Team, are busy cutting together mini-documentaries for a film screening in May. At the end of it all, scientists, parents, teachers and students will gather at Westview Middle School to learn about INSTAAR’s work through the lens of young minds. With any luck, some of the students might one day look back on this year as the catalyst that began a career in scientific research.

Bruce Vaughn explains how the Stable Isotope Lab processes ice cores from around the world to glean insights into the Earth’s history.

Barnard shows the Dream Team a rain gauge in the Ecohydrology Lab.

Barnard is interviewed by Dream Team member Adriel in her office.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

The Earth Explorers program gives local kids a first-hand look at a career in scientific research. After months of lab tours and interviews, participants are editing mini documentaries for a film screening in May.

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Framing the climate conversation through art, science and community collaborations (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach & Engagement)

Anonymous — Fri, 31 May 2024 21:55:16 +0000

Framing the climate conversation through art, science and community collaborations (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach & Engagement) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/31/2024 - 15:55

Jane Appel , CU ��Vlog�ƽ��

Coloradans are experiencing climate change. Residents face challenges like fires, drought and poor water and air quality. The Colorado Arts Science Environment Program’s (CASE) is addressing critical environmental and social issues across Colorado through a collaborative exhibition that brings together CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� scientists and artists from various parts of the state.

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The intersection of art and science workshop at Rio Grande Farm Park on Friday (Alamosa News | Valley Courier)

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 22:02:01 +0000

The intersection of art and science workshop at Rio Grande Farm Park on Friday (Alamosa News | Valley Courier) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/19/2023 - 16:02

John Waters , Courier News Editor

Del Norte artist Jocelyn Catterson and INSTAAR/Geography prof Holly Barnard will lead a workshop "Water Art + Science" on Friday at Rio Grande Farm Park, on #groundwater in the San Luis Valley.

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Art and climate science converge in new exhibit at the Colorado Capitol (KUNC)

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2023 21:46:29 +0000

Art and climate science converge in new exhibit at the Colorado Capitol (KUNC) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/24/2023 - 15:46

Emma VandenEinde

An exhibit that just opened in the Colorado capitol building's rotunda features artwork made in the process of partnerships between artists from around Colorado, their communities, and CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� scientists. Called “Coloradans and our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change,” the art grapples with the climate and environmental challenges that are part of Coloradoans' lives: drought, decreasing groundwater, acid mine drainage, wildfire, pine beetle tree mortality, and more.

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Coloradoans and our shared environment in times of challenge and change (CU OOE)

Anonymous — Thu, 18 May 2023 18:02:12 +0000

Coloradoans and our shared environment in times of challenge and change (CU OOE) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/18/2023 - 12:02

CU Office for Outreach and Engagement

A collaborative exhibition tells the story of how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality in their communities. Artists (the CASE Fellows) partnered with scientists and communities to make visible the connections between Coloradans and their environment. Several INSTAARs acted as scientist partners. This website showcases the artwork, as well as quotes from the partners, explorations of the issues, and what you can do to act.

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Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach and Engagement)

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:25:19 +0000

Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach and Engagement) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/19/2022 - 17:25

Gretchen Minekime , CU Office for Outreach and Engagement

The Office for Outreach and Engagement announces the CASE Fellows program. The program pairs Colorado artists with CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� scientists to produce art that will be exhibited at the Colorado State Capitol in an exhibition about how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality. Lisa Schwartz from OOE is leading the program in partnership with Shelly Sommer at INSTAAR, ��Vlog�ƽ�� County Arts Alliance and with exhibition and curatorial support from Amy Hoagland.

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Holly Barnard wins ��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly Excellence Award (��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly)

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Holly Barnard wins ��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly Excellence Award (��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/16/2021 - 00:00

The ��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly has awarded INSTAAR Fellow Holly Barnard an Excellence Award for leadership and service.

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New grant supports interdisciplinary research on ‘the critical zone’ and the future of Western water (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today)

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 06:00:00 +0000

New grant supports interdisciplinary research on ‘the critical zone’ and the future of Western water (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/02/2020 - 00:00

Three CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� faculty, including INSTAARs Holly Barnard and Eve-Lyn Hinckley, are principal investigators on a new five-year, $6.9 million National Science Foundation grant to study the “critical zone”—from Earth’s bedrock to tree canopy top—in the American West.

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Barnard

Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science

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Framing the climate conversation through art, science and community collaborations (CU ����Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach & Engagement)

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The intersection of art and science workshop at Rio Grande Farm Park on Friday (Alamosa News | Valley Courier)

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Art and climate science converge in new exhibit at the Colorado Capitol (KUNC)

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Coloradoans and our shared environment in times of challenge and change (CU OOE)

Off

Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU ����Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach and Engagement)

Off

Holly Barnard wins ����Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly Excellence Award (����Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly)

Off

New grant supports interdisciplinary research on ‘the critical zone’ and the future of Western water (CU ����Vlog�ƽ�� Today)

Off

Framing the climate conversation through art, science and community collaborations (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach & Engagement)

Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Community Outreach and Engagement)

Holly Barnard wins ��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly Excellence Award (��Vlog�ƽ�� Faculty Assembly)

New grant supports interdisciplinary research on ‘the critical zone’ and the future of Western water (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today)