Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
Science For Citizens is proud to be a partner of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., October 2010. A collaboration of more than 500 science and engineering organizations, the festival is designed to engage young people in the sciences. The festival will culminate with a two-day expo on the National Mall … Read more “Meet our partner: USA Science & Engineering Festival”
Categories: Citizen Science
Part art, part science, NYC Resistor is a “hacker collective” that shares information about and builds electronic…stuff. Amazing stuff: an interactive embroidery machine, books that “breathe,” cyber woodpeckers, a painting robot. Not surprisingly, the founders include folks like Bre Pettis, who produces a weekly video podcast called “Weekend Projects” for Make: Magazine; Nick Bilton, the … Read more “Electronic DIY-ers grow in Brooklyn”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Do-It-Yourself
Jellyfish, in addition to being one of many ocean creatures that terrify me, are an important part of the underwater ecosystem. However, several reports have indicated an unusually high increase in Jellyfish populations, and scientists are in need of help to understand why. Enter JellyWatch, a new citizen science project that aims to create a database of jellyfish … Read more “Tracking Jellyfish around the globe”
Categories: Animals, Ecology & Environment, Ocean & Water
You might say this post misses the boat. It’s about citizen scientists who monitor water quality—and World Water Day was last week. But the remarkable thing about these volunteers is that they never stop. They work all year round and nearly around the clock to keep our rivers, streams, and lakes healthy. Now I know … Read more “Valiant volunteers watch out for our water”
Categories: Biology, Chemistry, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
They come by the hundreds, always under cover of night: It’s the annual migration of American toads in Upper Roxborough, a suburb of Philadelphia. And that means it’s time for the Toad Detour, when citizens and officials come together to close local roads—and educate commuters—so the amphibians can cross safely to their breeding grounds. From … Read more “Philly citizens help toads cross the road”
Categories: Amphibians, Animals, Biology, Nature & Outdoors
Before I headed to Austin, TX last week for the SXSW music, film, and interactive conference (I helped put together a panel discussion there on the Future of Gaming for Discover Magazine and the National Science Foundation), I Googled “citizen science in Austin” and came upon the Texas Beewatchers. The organizer of this citizen science … Read more “What’s all the buzz about bees?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
Monarch butterflies need our help! The regal butterflies, hit hard by the torrential February rains in Mexico, are at their lowest population levels since 1975, according to Chip Taylor, director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas. The storms killed 50 to 60 percent of the breeding colonies in northern Mexico; the butterfly population … Read more “Help needed: monarch butterflies in trouble”
Categories: Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
Are you a Westchester (NY), Putnam (NY), or Fairfield County (CT) resident just itching for a reason to dust off that old boombox? If so, the The Who’s Whoo-ing citizen science project needs you to play a CD of owl calls for 10 minutes and record if a response is heard. Using simple “call playback surveys”, the Mianus River … Read more ““Who’s whoo-ing” in your backyard?”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors
To fans of hummingbirds and “nature cams,” Phoebe Allens needs no introduction. She’s an intrepid little momma bird whose adventures in nurturing her young have been well documented by a Web cam pointed at her nest in a rose bush in Orange County, California. Now that spring is nearly here, it’s time for another exciting … Read more “The hummingbird versus Godzilla–on video!”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors
One of the many reasons I love to sneak up to Point Reyes is the night sky. It’s often stunningly clear up there compared to foggy, urban San Francisco, offering a gorgeous celestial show to anyone inclined to look up. But on a recent getaway, I was bummed to find out that I’d forgotten to … Read more “Phone apps for citizen scientists: What are you packing?”
Categories: Animals, Apps, Astronomy & Space, Biology, Birds, Computers & Technology
