With over 130 institutions worldwide using NOAA’s Science On a Sphere® (SOS), the platform provides unparalleled opportunities for global data visualization. However, teachers and students have not taken full advantage of this resource. To help close this gap, NOAA's Office of Education and NOAA Research launched a student contest for the 2017 Science On a Sphere Users Collaborative Network Workshop at the Detroit Zoo on April 25–27, 2017.
![Kaitlin Tomlinson and Rachel Stukenborg won the inaugural Science On a Sphere student contest for their datasets and lesson plans focusing on energy poverty. From left to right: Louisa Koch, Director of NOAA Education; Kaitlin Tomlinson, James Madison University; Ron Kagan, CEO and Executive Director of Detroit Zoo; Rachel Stukenborg, James Madison University; and Carrie McDougall, NOAA Education. (Image credit: Detroit Zoo) Kaitlin Tomlinson and Rachel Stukenborg won the inaugural Science On a Sphere student contest for their datasets and lesson plans focusing on energy poverty. From left to right: Louisa Koch, Director of NOAA Education; Kaitlin Tomlinson, James Madison University; Ron Kagan, CEO and Executive Director of Detroit Zoo; Rachel Stukenborg, James Madison University; and Carrie McDougall, NOAA Education.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_width_1275/public/legacy/image/2019/Jun/dsc00528_1.jpg?itok=1VZmpOl4)
Kaitlin Tomlinson and Rachel Stukenborg won the inaugural Science On a Sphere student contest for their datasets and lesson plans focusing on energy poverty. From left to right: Louisa Koch, Director of NOAA Education; Kaitlin Tomlinson, James Madison University; Ron Kagan, CEO and Executive Director of Detroit Zoo; Rachel Stukenborg, James Madison University; and Carrie McDougall, NOAA Education. (Image credit: Detroit Zoo)