PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS!!!
Price range per workshop is $250-$350 depending on number of participants. In every workshop participants will be given hands-on activities that they may use in their classes. Please contact Dr. Lilienfeld at amy@circleofillumination.com for scheduling in January and February by JAN. 9th, 2026 as well as for her to answer any questions!
WORKSHOP 1. WILL IT GET TOO WARM in the CAR for LUCKY? An Introduction to the Greenhouse Effect
(Suitable for Weather and Climate Standards in Kindergarten, 3rd Grade and Middle School).
LUCKY
Copyright © Amy Lilienfeld 2021
According to the National Safety Transportation Board when it is only 60 degrees F. outside the inside of a car can become too warm for children or pets. The fact that temperatures inside a car can be so much higher than those outside is actually an illustration of the Greenhouse Effect.
The Greenhouse Effect refers to a process by which light energy passes through our atmosphere but when it is converted into heat energy it gets trapped by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. In the case of a car, however (or a greenhouse! Similarly while light energy easily passes into a car the heat energy that is created inside gets trapped by the glass windows… thus raising the temperature inside the car.
And, as spring progresses into summer, as average outside air temperatures continue to increase, the temperatures inside cars can increase so much that even very short periods of time in a car can pose significant danger to children or pets.
This aspect of our seasonality is due primarily to increases in the height of the sun above the horizon, called SUN ANGLE. Sun angle is measured usually at noon when the sun is highest in the sky that it will be all day. In this fascinating workshop participants will learn how to calculate sun angle for any day of the year for any place on Earth. This can be used to demonstrate not only the role of this important factor in temperature seasonality in the midlatitudes but aspects of climate in other parts of the world. Participants will get packets of activity sheets for their use during the workshop as well as for implementing in their own classrooms.
WORKSHOP will be 1.5 to 2 hours at a desired location in your school district! CEUS/SCECHES will be awarded.
WORKSHOP 2. WHY ISN’T the EQUATOR the HOTTEST PLACE ON EARTH? (Relates to NGSS Middle School standard MS-ESS2-6, “Development and Use a Model of How Unequal Heating and Rotation of the Earth Cause Patterns of Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation That Determine Regional Climates”)
The Global Atmospheric Circulation (GAC).
Source: Kaidor, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23902538
Don’t let your eyes glaze over yet!! You are now seeing what is probably one of the most important diagrams in Earth Science: The global pattern of winds referred to as the “Global Atmospheric Circulation”. It documents what mariners have known for centuries, i.e., that winds tend to below in consistent directions in particular latitudinal bands, e.g., the trade winds that blow generally from the east to the west in latitudinal regions referred to as the Tropics and Subtropics. On the other hand the Polar Jet Stream is a component of high-level winds referred to as the “Westerlies” that blow from west to east in the midlatitudes.
What explains this perpetual motion machine? The driver behind it is the excess solar radiation received around the Equator over the course of a year. This uneven heating is attributed to the very high sun angles that predominate in this region (were discussed in Workshop 1 but will quickly be reviewed) coupled with relatively long and unchanging day lengths.
In this workshop participants will learn in depth about the Global Atmospheric Circulation and its relationships with global wind patterns and atmospheric pressure. This will subsequently provide some insights into aspects of global climates as well as answer the driving question: Why isn’t the Equator the hottest place on Earth?
Duration of workshop 2 hours. 2 CEUS or SCECHES awarded with hands-on activities distributed.
WORKSHOP 3. THE USE OF REAL-TIME WEATHER WEB SITES TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF AIR MASSES ON WEATHER (Relates specifically to MS-ESS2-5 while also highly suitable for 3-ESS2-1, “Represent Data in Tables and Graphical Displays to Describe Typical Weather Conditions Expected During a Particular Season”)
Portion of Meteogram Showing Lake Effect Snow, Erie, PA, Winter 2025. Source: Wyoming Weather Web,