Earth Observations Day
September 21, 2006
“Earth Observations Day” (EO Day) is an education and awareness effort of the AmericaView Consortium (AmericaView). Working closely with the U.S. Geological Survey, AmericaView is comprised of 25 state-led academic consortia (the “StateViews”) whose educational vision and goals focus on engaging students and teachers at all levels in earth observations using remote sensing. Earth Observation resources - including surface materials/land cover, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and the atmosphere - provides teachers with the data needed for inquiry-based, Earth-systems- focused learning in the disciplines of Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Geography. National Science Education Standards in all fields of science stress the importance of inquiry involving observations, data gathering, and analysis; remote sensing of the Earth allows observations from the global to the regional and local scales, and requires ground observations to validate remotely sensed observations and support valid data analysis and interpretation.
National Geography Education Standards promote remote sensing observations to acquire, analyze, and report information at all scales concerning the Earth's four systems (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere); they also emphasize both the study of how human actions impact Earth systems and how physical systems and human systems interact. Remote sensing observations of the Earth offer historical and long-term monitoring capabilities that provide exciting and easily accessible data for student inquiry. Students who are exposed to remote sensing in grades K-12 have a significant advantage in a wide variety of undergraduate scientific and technical fields including the biological - ecological sciences, physical and cultural geography, geosciences, civil and environmental engineering, and the military sciences.