Measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory stopped after the 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano, when lava flow crossed the access road and took out power lines to the facility. The observatory remains inaccessible by vehicle and without power from the local utility company.

Observatory staff has established limited solar power in four observatory buildings and restored approximately 33 percent of the measurements onsite, including the Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps critical CO2 records and other atmospheric measurements.

Media can contact: Theo Stein (303) 819-7409 (theo.stein@noaa.gov) or Karin Vergoth 303-632-6413‬ (karin.vergoth@noaa.gov)

Outreach and Education

Welcome to the Mauna Loa Observatory Education Center! This area of our website is devoted to educating kids and students of all ages, providing teachers with assistance in developing lesson plans, and describing community outreach programs we are involved in.

Science Fair Awards

Earth Day Fairs

All Earth Day reports are in Adobe Reader (.pdf) format.

FAQ's

Kids Of All Ages

  • Printable Games
    These educational games for kids and young adults may be downloaded and printed.
  • Kids' Links
    These links take you outside the MLO website to some of our favorite educational sites for kids.

Students Of All Ages

  • Video Demonstrations
    Watch and learn about MLO and what we do through our ever-expanding video library.
  • MLO Brochures
    Download brochures from Mauna Loa Observatory, NOAA, and the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) that highlite and summarize important discoveries and activities related to these organizations.
  • NOAA Publications
    Download safety information and resources from various NOAA organizations. Safety information includes flood advisories, tsunami awareness brochures, El Nino information, and storm and drought safety preparations.
  • Student Links

Teachers

  • Lesson Plans
    Our Lesson Plans are fun and educational activites teachers may setup for their students. The activities relate to the Earth, environment, weather, and atmosphere. We provide instructions for setting up the lesson plans, lists of materials you will need, and more. All lesson plans are printable.
  • MLO Activites
    These activities are great for groups of student groups and classes that visit the MLO office for a field trip. There are dozens of examples of educational, interesting, fun activities that we can provide for our visitors. All MLO Activities are printable.
  • Teacher Links
    Here we have selected a few of our favorite external links that may be useful resources for teachers.