Background

A weather station is a place with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. Weather stations measure the temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation or rainfall. The instruments must be designed with care to avoid skewing the measurements. Manual observations are taken at least once daily, while automated measurements are taken at least once an hour. Different instruments are used to measure different weather phenomena. A thermometer is used for measuring air and sea surface temperature; a barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure; a hygrometer for measuring humidity; an anemometer for measuring wind speed; a pyranometer for measuring solar radiation; a rain gauge for measuring precipitation; a wind sock for measuring general wind speed and wind direction; a wind vane to show which way the wind is blowing; and so forth. There are special instruments for measuring weather conditions out to sea, and many other applications.
​​​​​​​A smart electronic device is a useful instrument, machine, or gadget that is controlled by electronic circuitry microcontroller boards, or sometimes by a single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and that perform only a few limited functions. We have many different kinds of devices at home, on our person, or at school to perform useful work for us, or to provide us with information, in order to increase our well-being.
 

The design brief

Design a weather station for monitoring the primary weather data for your area, using simple electronic circuitry, or a microcontroller board like the Arduino. Consider which data are important to your community and how best to measure and informatively display your results; and how to share your results with your community, and with the authorities if necessary. The weather station should be located within your property boundaries. Construct a working prototype of your weather station and test it. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.
 

​​​​​​​The design thinking process

Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
 

Note for teachers

Undertaking a student design project using electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• ​​​​​​​and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the PROTOTYPE Stage for Level IV to safely supervise this design project.