Students will investigate how real people use weather tools by meeting a meteorologist, observing instruments in action, and interviewing community members. They will create picture-based empathy maps grounded in real quotes and observations to understand user needs before defining any solutions.

Students will synthesize their weather tool user research into a clear, evidence-based problem statement by identifying patterns across interviews, clustering shared needs, and drafting a “How Might We” question grounded in real quotes. They will refine their problem definition through peer critique and a teacher conference before moving into ideation.

Students will generate many possible weather tool solutions based on real user needs, explore multiple creative approaches, and select top concepts grounded in empathy evidence to prepare for prototyping.

Students will build, test, and revise low- and medium-fidelity versions of their weather instruments, using real user feedback and data collection trials to improve accuracy and usability before creating a stronger Version 2 prototype.

Students will validate their refined weather instruments with a new user, analyze final weather data for patterns, and present their full design journey—from empathy research to prototype revisions—during the Meteorologist-for-a-Day exhibition.