MADISON – Andrew David ‘Drew’ Crocker, a freshman at Bob Jones High School, returned to his elementary alma mater for his final project to earn the Eagle Scout rank with Boy Scouts.

Drew is building an interactive weather station at Rainbow Elementary School for a “learning playground. Kids can really see and understand different tools that real meteorologists use to calculate real atmospheric conditions,” Drew said.

Drew’s project required 4-by-4 and 2-by-4 posts and plywood panels from Home Depot, which donated $50 to his venture. He used a router, along with miter, table and circular saws. His friend’s father was a helpful volunteer.

The station’s components are a thermometer (atmospheric temperature), hygrometer (humidity or atmospheric water vapor), barometer (atmospheric pressure), wind vane (wind direction) and rain gauge (rainfall amount).

Drew included explanations of these components’ purposes to provide an engineering tool for students. He hopes science classes can use the station to monitor atmospheric conditions for a few weeks and understand steps that an actual scientist takes for weather calculations. The station might even inspire future careers.

In addition, the station will help Rainbow earn certification for its outdoor classroom.

Since first grade, Drew has been a Scout. “My dad is an Eagle Scout, and I’ve always strived to become an Eagle Scout. I’ve learned many things — from community involvement to camping in deep wilderness,” Drew said.

“I’ve learned to ‘Be Prepared,’ the Scout motto. Troop 350 goes on one campout every month, (when) I learned knots, outdoor cooking and survival techniques,” Drew said.

“Most people would believe that Scouts are really all about being in the outdoors and knowing how to survive in a foreign environment, but there’s also a strong leadership benefit to Scouting,” Drew said. “Leadership positions in Scouting helped me be prepared to take on and be confident in real-life leadership positions.”

At Bob Jones, Drew participates with CyberPatriots and plans to enroll in Air Force JROTC. He is on the ‘A’ honor roll.

His parents are Andy and Beth Crocker. A stay-at-home mom, Beth leads Girl Scout Troop 708. Andy is Deputy Program Manager at Dynetics and works on the lander system to return astronauts to the moon. Drew’s sister, 10-year-old Katie, is a Rainbow fifth-grader.