Who needs chocolate, cards, roses, or a significant other, when you can celebrate Valentine’s Day with citizen science?
Below you’ll find five projects we love. Visit SciStarter to find 1000 more.
PS: If you have 30 seconds, consider taking this quick poll. We’re curious to learn more about the formal education level of the citizen science community.
Cheers!
The SciStarter Team
The Great Backyard Bird Count 
This annual bird count runs from February 12th to 16th this year, and it’s open to anyone in the world. Simply pick a location (such as your backyard!) and count the birds that you see for at least 15 minutes; by participating and reporting your data you’ll contribute to our understanding of birds across the globe. Get started!
Beats Per Life 
Is there a correlation between heart rate and lifespan? Help researchers find out by looking through published research results to compare the resting heart rates of all types of animals. Get started!
Snow Tweets 
When it snows in your area, stick a ruler in the snow and tweet your location along with the snow depth. Your data will be added to a real-time worldwide map of snow depth which will help scientists calibrate the accuracy of satellite instruments. Get started!
Bonus! The SciStarter team will join Discover Magazine, Astronomy Magazine and the Science Cheerleaders at the AAAS Family Science Days in Washington, DC February 13th and 14th. This free event is open to the public! We’ll give away rulers with Snow Tweets instructions to help you get started.
Health eHeart 
Want to help fight heart disease? By completing a simple online survey about your health and behavior, you can contribute to our understanding of heart health. Get started!
Baby CROINC 
Create a diary for your child and harness crowd wisdom to predict and improve her/his development. This project is part of an international scientific effort to understand the way children grow.
Get started!