Citizen science can be an excellent way to engage learners in the process of science and to address the Practices as outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In each issue of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Journal, Science Scope, a citizen science project from the SciStarter Project Finder is featured!
In the November/December 2018 issue of Science Scope, Raspberry Shake is the featured citizen science project. The issue’s theme focused on the science concepts of motion and stability. The Raspberry Shake citizen science project provides students with a real world context to study earth movements. The Earth’s surface is always in motion, and the Raspberry Shake helps to detect ground vibrations and display an associated seismograph on the computer monitor for real-time data exploration. The device can detect and display ground motion impacts from earthquakes, local tremors, fracking activity, quarry explosions, landslides, local movement associated with large concerts and sporting events, and more!
Below is a brief overview of the Raspberry Shake project from the SciStarter Project Finder:
| Goal: | Monitor Earth motion and seismic activity around the globe. |
| Task: | Monitor Earth motion in your area. |
| Where: | Global, anywhere on the planet! |
To learn more about Raspberry Shake, view a demonstration of the instrument.
Classrooms around the world are using the Raspberry Shake to engage students in real world science, while they also study Earth movements at local and global scale. The Seismometers in Schools project in Indonesia and the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) project with Oklahoma middle school students are two examples of Raspberry Shake science in the classroom. The Raspberry Shake project continues to expand. For example, the Raspberry Boom project is an additional opportunity to explore infra-sound activities, including sounds generated from imperceptible animal calls and communications! Happy Exploring! Let us know what you detect and discover!