Citizen Science Month and #OneMillionActsOfScience Needs You!

Image of robot Uncle Sam pointing at viewer with caption "I Want You!"
Robot Uncle Sam requests your contribution to OneMillionActsOfScience! (Credit: Kevin Ripka)

It’s a packed week, with Earth Day, Arbor Day, The City Nature Challenge and more!

The last full week of Citizen Science Month is jam packed! It’s the week of Earth Day, Arbor Day, Noise Awareness Day, and the City Nature Challenge! Find a project and report your Act of Science here. Just creating a SciStarter account and participating in any Affiliate project before May 1 will earn you a One Million Acts of Science badge! And don’t forget to share your activity on social media with the hashtag “#OneMillionActsOfScience,” so we can celebrate with you.

April 21: Step Up for Volunteer Week!

We Need You! While, the word “volunteer” was once used primarily to describe military service, today it refers to any endeavor done of one’s own free will. So to celebrate Volunteer Week, why not enlist in the army of citizen scientists working to improve science research? We have a whole collection of projects you can do anytime, anywhere.

Photo of Earth from Space
Show some love to the Earth this Earth Day! Credit: Joey Littlemore/ Public Domain, via Flickr Creative Commons

April 22: Earth Day

For its special day, what do you get a planet that has everything? How about gifting Mother Earth with a little “re-wilding,” by making an outdoor space more closely resemble its natural state? April 22’s SciStarter LIVE event features filmmakers from the series Wild Hope, SciStarter staff, and STAR Net, showing how libraries can help with community re-wilding efforts.

Black and white image of person with canes navigating streetscape with the words Sidewalks Are Critical Infrastructure
Project Sidewalk is a citizen science project anyone can participate in. Credit: Project Sidewalk

April 23: Project Sidewalk

If you use a wheelchair, push a baby carriage, drag luggage or use pretty much anything with wheels, you rely on well-maintained sidewalks. With Project Sidewalk, you will report on the condition of sidewalks wherever you go, helping to guide people who rely on sidewalks, and also helping cities and towns maintain them.

Photo of rock sculpture of man's head with hand held up to ear as if listening
Investigate the world of sound. Credit: Couleur via Pixabay

April 24: IT’S NOISE AWARENESS DAY!!!

Sorry… just want to make sure you hear about noise awareness day, when we raise awareness of the harmful effects noise can have on health, hearing and wildlife. Try one of these five projects to help scientists understand our aural landscape.

Photo of SciStarter Podcast host Bob Hirshon hugging a redwood tree
No shame in being a tree-hugger! Credit: Laura Nelson

April 25: Celebrate Trees!

It’s Arbor Day, and we’ve got a collection of projects to advance tree research and help our bark-wearing, oxygen producing, habitat-creating, planet-protecting, plant partners thrive.

Photo of teen girl and boy using mobile phones to photograph marsh vegetation
With a smartphone, you can document the natural world. Credit: Bob Hirshon

April 26: City Nature Challenge

When was the last time you played hide and seek? Well, today, for the City Nature Challenge, thousands of species of plants and animals will be out waiting for you to find them. Are you up to the challenge? If so, visit City Nature Challenge, find you city, sign up and start seeking. You and your neighbors will be competing against cities from all over the world to find the most species!

Beached dolphin found at salt marsh on Cape Cod being carried by stretcher to van, to be released in deep water.
Dolphins need our help. Credit: Bob Hirshon

April 27: Marine Mammal Rescue Day

Despite being protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other laws, whales, dolphins, manatees, seals, sea lions, sea otters and walruses (are we leaving anyone out?) face a daunting range of human-related challenges, like getting hit by ships and tangled up in plastic. Today would be a good day to join one or more of the projects in our collection page to help them out.

Banner graphic describing All Of Us project webinar topic and speakers
Healthcare research needs all of us. Credit: All of Us

April 29: Genes and Journeys! Bridging Gaps in Medical and Societal Accessibility

On April 29, we’re inviting you to transformative online conversation with community leaders – including the Chief Engagement Officer of All of Us (one of the most innovative precision medicine studies, ever) – about equity in healthcare, where we will discuss how to make healthcare research and science generally include everyone.

Categories: Alzheimers, Citizen Science Month, Ecology & Environment, Environment, Featured Projects, Geology & Earth Sciences, Global Citizen Science Month, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter, Other

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About the Author

Bob Hirshon

Bob Hirshon

Bob Hirshon heads up Springtail Media, specializing in science media and digital entertainment. He is Principal Investigator for the NSF-supported National Park Science Challenge, an augmented reality adventure that takes place in National Parks. Hirshon headed up the Kinetic City family of science projects, including the Peabody Award winning children’s radio drama Kinetic City Super Crew, McGraw-Hill book series and Codie Award winning website and education program. Hirshon can be heard on XM/Sirius Radio’s Kids Place Live as “Bob the Science Slob”, sharing science news and answering children’s questions. At SciStarter, Bob edits the Citizen Science Podcast.