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o .. -" , . e . e " are made farther in advance, and publicity is better coordinated, A highlight of the summer was the CoCo RaHS picnic in August This event, sponsored by Fort Collins Utilities, was an opportunity to thank and acknowledge both the volunteers and sponsors. Certificates, prizes and a few special awards helped make this event special. A poster display of project results and a scrap book were ways of showing the participants the impor- tant accomplishments of the project. The three high school student leaders reaped the greatest educational benefits of all. Not only did they receive paychecks that could help prepare their bank accounts for college, they also spent the summer working directly with scientists and other professionals leading a unique field project. The benefit of this experience is not yet known, but it will likely be large. 5. RESULTS The details of summer storms in northern Colo- rado, with their complex rain and hail patterns, were effectively documented (Figure 1 and 2) through the cooperation of a large number of trained volunteer observers. With the help of the World Wide Web, storm reports were assembled in a timely manner, analyzed and provided to participants and sponsors, CoCo RaHS activities and accomplishments can be viewed at http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu/-haiI.This webpage was developed and managed by CoCo RaHS student leaders. . ~ , i~ - ~ ~ ~ 105.15 ; 1D5.~ 10"".... HI. 1""-' Figure 1. AccumUlated rainfaD lor the month of July 1998 ..... Fori CoIDns C_. "'.. 31.. .. ..... . 25.e 21.. l.."d ~5.. . <> ~ ~... " ft COWIIll , ....... ~... b '. 0 . cmr-cmu..- '" -.. ~ ~... . . . . . . . 118-" -5.. .........ID -45...."'.__35....3I..-25.~:2IiJ...15.e-111.111_5.. e.. 15.8 18. 1DI11ES'J' OF CHILL FIgUre 2. Map _ng areas near Wellington, CO where haD was detected on July 21, 1998 by the CSU CHILL radar. Results fell into four categories: ~ A. Program Development . Based on the 1998 summer experience, the CoCo RaHS model for participatory research, science education and community collaboration appears to work well and have considerable potential for im- provement and use in other areas. . High school students, when given goals, direction and supervision, were capable of carrying out most of the functions of managing a project of this magnitude. . CoCo RaHS worked most efficiently where partici- pants transmitted observations via the World Wide Web and where routine project-related communi- cation took place via e-mail. Traditional phone communication also worked fine for participants but required significantly more staff time. . Volunteer recruitment was easier than anticipated, and volunteer retention was high. Out of the initial set of volunteers, 80% participated at least spo- radically throughout the summer project. ~ proximately 50% of recruits participated consis- tently and enthusiastically for the entire summer. Approximately 75% of the 'participants hope to continue with the project next year. Thirty-five per- cent of the initial recruits volunteered to continue taking observations during the winter. Therefore, the CoCo RaHS Website, although unattended, was left active for year-round precipitation monitor- ing and display. It was assumed that most student volunteers were high achievers, but in evaluating students they actually represented a broad spec- trum and included some high risk, low achievers. In general, student volunteers up to approximately the 8th grade level were not as motivated as older . . .