Covering the people, projects and phenomena of citizen science
Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
There’s a (citizen science) app for that!
By Arvind Suresh, Sep 23, 2015
The abundance of mobile technology puts citizen science at the tip of your fingers.
Our editors have chosen 5 apps to get you started. Find many more apps and a thousand more projects in theSciStarter Project Finder.
New! Now you can add citizen science events like meet ups, celebrations, citsci cafes, and more, using the SciStarter “add an event” form from the homepage! We’ll post a calendar of events soon.
Do you ever have trouble finding a wi-fi signal? With this Android app, you can find a cell tower near you, look up signal strength in a given area, or find a wi-fi hotspot. Submit data to improve the app’s information.
Redwoods are the tallest trees on earth. These staggering beauties are a global treasure, but we don’t know how they’ll be impacted by climate change. Use this iPhone app to submit photos of redwoods so scientists can study the survival and range of the trees.
If you have a smartphone, tablet, or computer, you can use this program to explore the world. Design or join existing “missions” to do things like photograph clouds, explore the impact of noise on birds, or measure rain events. Get Started!
Photo: Richard Kirby
Secchi App
Interested in water quality? Purchase or create your own secchi disk to measure water clarity, and then use the iPhone or Android Secchi App to share your results, which will be used to study phytoplankton. Additional resources are available for educators. Get Started!
Photo: Wendy Caldwell
Monarch SOS
Monarchs are one of the most beloved butterflies in the world, but they aren’t always as easy to recognize as you would think. Can you tell a monarch butterfly from a viceroy? Can you spot a monarch egg? This iPhone app will help you do all of those things and more.
The White House is hosting a live webcast forum on citizen science called Open Science and Innovation: Of the People, By the People, For the People. Tune in onWednesday, September 30 from 8am to 12pm EDT! Several SciStarter team members have been invited and we will Tweet news via @SciStarter!
Arvind Suresh is science communicator and a former laboratory biologist, he has a Master’s degree in Cell Biology and Molecular Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. He enjoys reading, teaching, talking and writing science. Connect with him on Twitter @suresh_arvind.
