The use of a simple digital weather station (not only) in teaching physics

TL;DR

This paper describes the design and implementation of simple digital weather stations using accessible technology to enhance physics and STEM education by promoting scientific literacy, critical thinking, and cross-disciplinary skills through hands-on data collection and analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a practical, low-cost weather station project for schools that integrates physics, computer science, and geography to improve science literacy and experimental skills.

Findings

Students learn to measure physical quantities accurately.

The project enhances critical thinking and data analysis skills.

Cross-disciplinary learning is effectively promoted.

Abstract

One of key goals of contemporary physics (and, realistically, STEM) education is to develop students' science literacy and critical thinking skills. In this paper, we present the construction and use of several versions of a simple school-based digital weather station that students can use to measure fundamental physical quantities (temperature, pressure, air humidity, light intensity) as part of school activities. The weather stations were constructed at our workplace using an Arduino microcontroller, BBC micro: bit, and the school measurement system Coach. This paper proposes not only the design and related programming of the weather stations but also how students can collect, analyse, and interpret measured data, thereby learning scientific methods and developing science literacy and critical thinking. This hands-on approach also develops students' experimental skills, emphasizes the cross-curricular relationships between physics, computer science and geography, and teaches them to work with accurate data in the context of real environmental problems.