Fun Fair Teaches Lao Students about Weather Science

June 28, 2012

Deputy Public Affairs Officer, Mike Pryor coloring pictures with school kids at the Weather Science Fun Fair.

IRC Director Khammanh shows students how to put on a protective life jacket in a flood situation

On June 27, the Information Resource Center of the US Embassy hosted a Weather Science Fun Fair for local schoolchildren. Over 200 students and 35 teachers from nine schools in the Vientiane area attended the interactive exhibit.

The exhibit was organized around four concepts related to weather science, with an emphasis on extreme weather scenarios such as floods: prevent, predict, prepare, and respond. Students learned how different weather measuring instruments such as barometers and rain gauges work, how scientists predict weather,  and how people should respond in a flood situation. There were special guests, including Tom Donaldson, a hydrologist with the U.S. National Weather Service visiting from the U.S., who explained how his agency practices flood forecasting. Additionally, a representative from the Lao Red Cross showed the students how to practice emergency first aid. Great support was provided by students from the Lao-American Center as well as students participating in the Study in the U.S. Institutes exchange program.