A doctoral candidate in climatology, Ryan Eagan came to UD’s Lab School to teach children about weather. Armed with non-contact thermometers, paper streamers, a tool to measure wind speed and a beach ball that doubled as the Earth, he turned concepts from atmospheric science into hands-on lessons for a room of fascinated preschoolers.

Feet on the ground, head in the clouds

Article by Adam Thomas Photos courtesy of Kristen Chandler September 11, 2026

UD doctoral candidate Ryan Eagan reflects on teaching young students at the UD Lab School

“Mr. Ryan’s coming! Mr. Ryan's coming!’”

That was the reaction from children at the University of Delaware Lab School whenever Ryan Eagan walked through the door.

A doctoral candidate in climatology, Eagan had come to the school to teach the children about weather. Armed with non-contact thermometers, paper streamers, a tool to measure wind speed and a beach ball that doubled as the Earth, he turned concepts from atmospheric science into hands-on lessons for a room of fascinated preschoolers.

For Eagan, who studies clouds and radiative transfer over the Antarctic ice sheet, translating complex science for children was a meaningful reminder of the power of curiosity.

“They ask questions that often, as adults, we forget to ask,” Eagan said. “Their excitement and energy make it so much fun for me to get energized about these things, too.”

Making science accessible

Eagan’s experience began through his work as president of UD’s Climate Fellows, a community of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in climate change and committed to volunteer work and outreach. One of the Climate Fellows had a daughter who attended the Lab School and knew the school was looking for people to teach special lessons. Eagan volunteered.

The UD Lab School, housed in the College of Education and Human Development, is a model of inclusive and nature-based early childhood education. The program serves children from eight months through kindergarten, while providing teaching, learning and research opportunities for students, faculty, staff and practitioners across UD and throughout the region.

Kristen Chandler has taught at the Lab School for the last seven years and currently co-teaches the outdoor pre-kindergarten classroom, which includes 20 children, ages 4 to 6.

For Eagan, who studies clouds and radiative transfer over the Antarctic ice sheet, translating complex science for children was a meaningful reminder of the power of curiosity.

“Nature-based education is a passion of mine,” said Chandler. “So, when I connected with Ryan, I was excited to have a unit on weather for our children.”

Eagan taught four lessons in the spring of 2026, covering topics on temperature, clouds and seasons, and conducting an experiment on density by testing which objects floated in water.

For one lesson, he and the children used non-contact thermometers to measure the temperature of various surfaces. “Based on what a surface is made out of and its color, every surface is going to absorb and re-emit sunlight differently,” Eagan explained. “For the kids, it was interesting to see that some surfaces in the sun were pushing 80 or 90 degrees on a very cold day.”

Using a beach ball as the Earth and a flashlight as the sun, he also had the children tilt the “Earth” at different angles to demonstrate how sunlight changes throughout the seasons.

Eagan used paper streamers to visualize wind direction and brought an anemometer, which measures wind speed, so that students could see how fast the wind was blowing.

“For science communication, it was one of the most challenging but enjoyable approaches,” said Eagan. “You have an audience that is eager to learn, but also, one that needs information distilled into the simplest form so they can understand it.”

Eagan’s approach was to embrace the questions that came naturally to the children.

“As an adult, in the real world, not everyone is curious,” he said. “Nobody talks about their favorite rock anymore, or their favorite dinosaur. We get too caught up in all the other stuff that comes with adulting.”

Chandler said the children were always eager to see what Eagan had planned.

“He was our weather expert,” she said, “and he had all kinds of cool tools that the kids were really interested in.”

His visits were part of a broader effort at the Lab School to connect young learners with the expertise and resources available across UD.

The teachers there utilize the practices taught to undergraduate majors, with a focus on child-centered curriculum, developmentally appropriate practices, nature-based education, social-emotional learning and mindfulness.

Chandler’s classroom has hosted an oceanography professor and students from the hydroponics club, birding club and geology club, among others.

“We are always looking for ways to connect with the amazing resources that are available through the University of Delaware,” she said.

From physics to climate science

Eagan’s path to becoming the Lab School’s resident weather expert was anything but conventional.

After a pandemic layoff forced him to leave his job at a software and marketing firm, he had what he jokingly calls a “mid-life crisis” and decided to go back to school.

A Penn State alum who majored in physics and did astro-particle physics research while an undergrad, he was looking for a scientific topic that would make a difference in the lives of everyday people. In 2023, he enrolled at UD and, after transferring credits from Penn State, earned a degree in environmental science from the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in just three semesters.

The program's diverse curriculum gave Eagan exposure to many areas of the field, including soil science, oceanography, meteorology and policy. He gravitated towards atmospheric science and physical oceanography, which spoke to his “deep-rooted love of physics and math.”

That interest ultimately led him to his current research in climatology, with a focus in atmospheric sciences and radiative transfer over the Antarctic ice sheet. The work builds off his experience analyzing sea ice trends and could help improve long-term climate models and better understand the effects of warming in the Antarctic region.

Eagan credits his thesis advisor, Dana Veron, professor and co-director of the Gerald J. Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub, for guiding him toward the research.

“I'm trying to get a better idea of how much the clouds and the fog events over the ice sheet impact the energy balance,” said Eagan. “We currently don't model that very well because we have some gaps, and I’m one of many scientists trying to fill those gaps.”