17 August
2006 - Greg Hunt MP, Parliamentary Secretary with
ministerial responsibility for the Bureau of Meteorology
today invited the public to take advantage of
the Bureau opening its doors to the public as
part of National Science Week. The Bureau will
be launching a series of balloon flights as part
of the week long celebrations from the Bureau's
Broadmeadows Annexe.
Mr Hunt said the public open
day is an opportunity for the community to glimpse
a rare look inside the Bureau's operations and
an insight into how the weather is predicted.
"The Bureau of Meteorology
is very important to many people in our community
- the marine and agricultural industries depend
on Bureau information for their day to day operation
and a lot of people are generally interested in
the weather and how it will effect their day."
"This open day is an opportunity
for weather watchers to come inside the Bureau
and speak to the meteorologists who they depend
on for weather information, share weather knowledge
with them and also see how the Bureau operates."
"The open day is also a
perfect opportunity for school groups to visit
the Bureau and speak to their meteorologists and
other scientists to find out about career paths
at the Bureau of Meteorology."
"Weather observers have
interesting careers - they work at weather stations
all around Australia and its territories, including
Antarctica, with high technology equipment. They
take observations, maintain the quality of the
data and deliver weather services to their local
community."
The Bureau's Broadmeadows training
annexe operates world-class facilities including
weather-watch and wind-finding radars.
The open day will be based on-site
where the public will be treated to a tour of
both outdoor and indoor operations. They will
observe a hydrogen-filled weather balloon release
and associated tracking equipment, see first-hand
how data are collected for the Australian climate
record, and hear about the influence of climate
on marine and agricultural sectors.
Current weather observer trainees
will be hosting each session. The observations
program is a vital function of the Bureau, essential
to the everyday services of the agency. Observations
are collected, recorded and disseminated all around
Australia for many purposes - weather balloons
are an essential tool for collecting information
on the atmosphere.
The event is for today only,
and the 90-minute sessions on offer have been
fully booked by schools and community groups.
Media are invited to an 11am
session at the Bureau's training annexe on Glenlitta
Ave, Broadmeadows (off Camp Rd). During this session
a 1,200-gram ozone balloon will be released and
tracked.
This media release is on the Bureau website http://www.bom.gov.au/
under NEWS / Media Releases
For more information about 2006 National Science
Week visit: www.scienceweek.info.au
Kristy McSweeney
Tarini Casinader
