From Snowflakes to Weather Forecasts and More
November 10, 2026
Wheeler has a new weather station 🛰️, thanks in large part to the curiosity and initiative of 8th-grader Evan C. ’31. Evan’s interest in studying the weather and its patterns may be familiar to those who have followed our earlier stories about him.
A few years ago, during a snowstorm, Evan built his own cardboard housing unit for a microscope so he could study snowflakes up close. Beyond some very cool data, that project also led to an appearance on NBC10 with Morning Meteorologist Christina Erne, where Evan talked about his creation. More recently, he put his knowledge to work by teaching a 5th-grade class about lake-effect snow.
For his 12th birthday, Evan’s great-aunt, an atmospheric physicist, gifted him an at-home weather station. He enjoyed collecting and interpreting the data so much that he wanted to bring that same opportunity to Wheeler.
“I thought that it would be cool and exciting to have an even larger weather station at Wheeler, so I emailed Mr. Harris to propose the idea,” said Evan. Over the past year, Evan met several times with Aerie Enrichment Program Founder Mark Harris P’08, P’24, Science Department Chair Sarah Berthiaume Leduc P’32, and Providence Director of Operations Nicole Mineo P’38 to move the idea forward.
“We researched different types of weather stations and picked a Davis Instruments weather station with the recommendation of the scientists at Mount Washington Observatory,” Evan explained. “We were able to get funding through Aerie and Wheeler’s Science Department. Mr. [Mike] Rodrigues in Facilities helped install it on the roof of FAB (Fresh Air Building), and Mr. [Joe] Scanlon [from Technology] spent a lot of time getting it all online.”
Evan recently joined his family and others who helped make the project possible on the roof of FAB for its official launch. “ I am super thankful for everyone’s help,” he shared.
Evan hopes the new weather station will spark interest in meteorology among other students. “Every science teacher now has access to the data. Hopefully, we can start incorporating meteorology into the Wheeler curriculum or through an Aerie Enrichment class. It would be fun to analyze the data and use it to start doing some of our own forecasting!”
The possibilities have the Science Department excited, too. “It gives us access to live weather data collected right from the roof of FAB!” said Ms. B. “Some of our science teachers were finding ways to use the data in their classrooms almost immediately after the station went live!
“One of the things I love most is that it is something students of all ages can engage with, from our youngest learners who are just beginning to explore weather to Middle and Upper School students studying meteorological science in much greater depth,” she added. “It has also been a great opportunity for collaboration with the Aerie and Technology Departments. We see lots of possibilities for building new interdisciplinary curricular and co-curricular experiences around it.”
Both she and Evan are particularly excited about starting a weather club in Upper School next year, giving students even more opportunities to explore science beyond the classroom.
For Mr. Harris, the project is also a great example of what can happen when a student takes an idea and sees it through. “I’m so happy that a student idea, well-planned, gathered enough support to become a reality,” he said. “The Science Department, the Facilities team, and Aerie were all persuaded by Evan’s thoughtful proposal, and the wider community will benefit for many years to come!”
