The Backyard Club Reads the Sky on Saturday, September 15

National Park Service

News Release Date: September 4, 2012

Contact: Susan Jones, 315-338-7730

Why is the weather forecast so often wrong – come find out! Join Meteorologist Dr. Glenn Van Knowe, in the "Backyard Club" program on Saturday, September 15, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am and from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm at the Fort Stanwix National Monument's Willett Center.

Examine primary source documents about forecasting the weather in the Mohawk Valley in the 1700's and examine how the weather conditions affected the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777. Make a colonial weather vane! Play the Walter the Water Molecule game and collect "water" beads for your own water cycle bracelet. Learn how to read the sky so you can predict the weather from your own backyard.

Is it just whacky weather we are having or is it climate change? Meet clown fish like those found at Biscayne NP who are not clowning around about climate change. Examine evidence found in parks like Rocky Mountain NP with its dying forests and then decide for yourself if it is whacky weather or climate change. Learn how you can help Alaskan polar bears survive right from your own backyard.

Join the fun! Join the Backyard Club! The next Backyard Club will be held Oct 20, 2012, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am and from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm at the Fort Stanwix National Monument's Willett Center. This next program will help you become a Junior Paleontologist, exploring fossils.

Fort Stanwix National Monument is open seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission to the park is free. Activities are ongoing unless noted. For more information about upcoming events please call the park at [phone]. Please visit the park's web page at www.nps.gov/fost for additional information about the park and up-to-date news about park events.

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