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<< In a wet, warm, tropical climate like on the island of Savai‘i in Western Samoa, there are virtually no distinct seasons and temperatures vary only within a small range. Photograph by David Hiser/Photographers Aspen

As head of the new National Geographic Climate Observation Post, you need to create a Climate Map to illustrate the world's different climate zones.

Snow in the Sahara? Heat at the Poles? Cold tropics? Talk about disaster areas! Until now, you may have thought that the biggest climatic disaster was global warming. It's true, that's pretty hot stuff, but things could get a whole lot worse if really wacky weather began to occur. As the head of the Climate Observation Post, you'll want to make sure you know all about the world's weather, climate, and climate controls.

There are six climate zones in the world: tropical, dry, mild, continental, polar, and high elevation. Within each zone are further distinctions that indicate a more specific type of climate.

Now that you're ready, create your own illustrated climate map and match wits with the weather! Using the climate map as a guide, print out a world map and photographs of four of the world's climate zones. Use the photographs to illustrate your climate map, and color in the climate zones with shades that seem right to you. You might want to use blue for polar regions, for instance, or red for desert regions.

As an Xpedition Xtra, highlight the lines of latitude on your map. What do you recognize about the climate zones and their relationship to latitude?

Younger Xpeditioners: Think about the weather where you live. During the year, do there tend to be comfortable temperatures most of the time or extremes of hot and cold? A lot of rain or snow, or a little? Ask an older person to help you learn what the weather is like in a city or town far away. Why do you think the weather is different there? Is one of the two places far to the north or south, high in the mountains, or near an ocean? Draw two pictures of yourself, one where you live now and then another showing what you would wear or do if you lived in that other place.

As an Xpedition Xtra, do you think there are some animals that live where you do but couldn't live in that other location? Add pictures of local animals to your two drawings.

Older Xpeditioners: Keep track of the weather for a week in your hometown and in five other cities: Cairo, Egypt; Nome, Alaska; Sydney, Australia; Moscow, Russia; and Manaus, Brazil. (Check www.nws.noaa.gov or www.weather.com for weather information.) On a world map locate all six locations. Which had the least and the most precipitation (rain or snow)? Which had the highest and lowest average daily temperatures? Identify the climate zone for each location.

How does the climate in which you live affect how you live? Does it influence how you spend your time, like being outdoors or indoors? Does it affect what people do for a living?

Parents: Identify your climate zone. If you've ever traveled away from your home, talk to your kids about a different location's climate and weather. Discuss why some places are popular destinations for summer or winter vacations. Have you ever made a decision about whether to travel to a location based on its climate? Also, talk about how the climate might affect how you live or what you do for a living.

Explore the positive aspects of climate and weather as well as those that are disastrous or inconvenient to human beings. Different climates encourage biodiversity, and it's important to reinforce that weather affects more than just people. For example, at certain times of the year, rain is a necessity—not a nuisance—even if a softball or soccer game gets rained out.