Feet on the ground, head in the clouds

"Mr. Ryan's coming! Mr. Ryan's coming!'"

That was the reaction from children at the University of Delaware Lab School whenever Ryan Eagan walked through the door.

A doctoral candidate in climatology, Eagan had come to the school to teach the children about weather. Armed with non-contact thermometers, paper streamers, a tool to measure wind speed and a beach ball that doubled as the Earth, he turned concepts from atmospheric science into hands-on lessons for a room of fascinated preschoolers.

For Eagan, who studies clouds and radiative transfer over the Antarctic ice sheet, translating complex science for children was a meaningful reminder of the power of curiosity.

"They ask questions that often, as adults, we forget to ask," Eagan said. "Their excitement and energy make it so much fun for me to get energized about these things, too."

Making science accessible

Eagan's experience began through his work as president of UD's Climate Fellows, a community of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in climate change and committed to volunteer work and outreach. One of the Climate Fellows had a daughter who attended the Lab School and knew the school was looking for people to teach special lessons. Eagan volunteered.

The UD Lab School, housed in the College of Education and Human Development, is a model of inclusive and nature-based early childhood education. The program serves children from eight months through kindergarten, while providing teaching, learning and research opportunities for students, faculty, staff and practitioners across UD and throughout the region.

Kristen Chandler has taught at the Lab School for the last seven years and currently co-teaches the outdoor pre-kindergarten classroom, which includes 20 children, ages 4 to 6.