WASHINGTON, DC — As 300 middle school students learned here, there’s a whole world of weather to be discovered indoors at the first “Indoor Weather Classroom” sponsored by Carrier Corp. (Syracuse, NY) and The Weather Channel.

Sixth graders from the Washington area were the first students to experience the new curriculum designed to increase awareness of the factors that create indoor weather: temperature, humidity, air quality, and noise. The event was held at the National Geographic Society headquarters and hosted by Dennis Smith, a meteorologist from The Weather Channel.

Students attending the Indoor Weather Classroom took on the roles of meteorologists, architects, environmental scientists, explorers, and geographers as they learned from a variety of indoor weather exhibits.

The indoor weather curriculum is now available to teach middle school students nationwide. An accompanying $25,000 scholarship competition challenges students to apply this knowledge.

The competition encourages students to discover new ways to optimize indoor environments by studying energy efficiency and indoor air quality in their homes, schools, or other buildings of their choice.