The Sun Takes Center Stage for Citizen Science Month Week 2

Car windshield with the message "Totality or Bust" — Dedicated eclipse viewers will do whatever it takes to get to the path of totality (credit: NPS/John Tobiason)

The solar eclipse is the big event of the second week of Citizen Science Month, with activities for folks who will be in the eclipse path and also for those who aren’t. There are also other great citizen science activities, celebrating National Pet Day, National Library Week, and more!

One Million Acts Of Science Challenge

Screenshot of collage showing collection of social media posts about Citizen Science Month — Citizen scientists all over the world are sharing their “act of science” on social media (credit: SciStarter)

SciStarter is challenging the public to perform one million acts of science this month, and offering suggestions for each day. As of April 4, there are 210,048, so the month is already off to a strong start. Interested? Find a project and report your Act of Science here. And share your act of science on social media with the hashtag #OneMillionActsOfScience!

April 8: Last minute eclipse projects

Square graphic showing descriptions of four eclipse-related citizen science projects — Contribute to these eclipse-related projects on animal behavior, soundscapes and more (credit: SciStarter)

While many people plan their eclipse activities well in advance, some of us wait until the last minute. Luckily, there are projects that take little prep and can be done by anyone, including these four. And only one requires being in the path of totality!

April 9: NASA Eclipse Science Debrief

Image of solar eclipse. Text on top says NASA ECLIPSE SCIENCE DEBRIEF with additional info — NASA scientists will recap their eclipse activities on this live event (credit: SciStarter)

Tune in for a NASA Eclipse Science Debrief, Tuesday, April 9th at 2 pm EDT on SciStarter LIVE. There will be highlights from yesterday’s event, opportunities for you to share your experiences, and ideas on how you can stay involved with relevant research moving forward, all brought to you by NASA solar science luminaries!

April 10: Science kits from your library

Image of two woman reading science project instruction sheet, with mobile phone and clip on magnifier on table — Through the Citizen and Community Science Library Network, libraries all over the world now offer citizen science kits and support, free to individuals, families and classrooms (credit: SciStarter)

Did you know you could check citizen science kits out from your library, just like you check out books? To celebrate National Library Week, see if your library participates and, if not, learn how they can sign up.

April 11: Get pet-cited!

A siamese cat and a Welsh corgi dog touch faces, looking like pals — Why not get your dog or cat involved in the Citizen Science Month action? (credit: Lo, public domain via Flickr Creative Commons)

Is your pet feeling left out of all the Citizen Science Month excitement? For National Pet Day (April 11), why not get them involved? Try this suite of pet projects where your pet is the star, including C-BARQ (for dogs), Fe-BARQ (for cats), Dog Life Experience Study or Darwin’s Ark (dogs and cats). Sadly, there are no dedicated citizen science projects for your pet iguana, hamster or jumping spider yet, but stay tuned!

April 12: Too busy for science?

A graphic depicting an analog stopwatch with a 3-dimensional Earth globe as the watch face — When time is of the essence, you could try a breezy citizen science project that clocks in at under 30 minutes (credit: Gerd Altmann, via Pixabay)

In a rush? No time? We understand. That’s why today is dedicated to Thirty Minute CitSci: quick and easy projects you can squeeze into even the most overstuffed to do list.

April 13: Putting da brakes on debris

Photograph of litter-strewn beach, with two people picking up trash — Picking up litter is an easy way to improve your local environment, and tracking what you find and remove contributes to research efforts (credit: Sergei Tokmakov, via Pixabay)

Let’s leave the planet cleaner on April 30th than we found it on April 1st! Join Litter Journal, download their mobile app, collect plastic and other debris, and keep track of what you find on the app.

Check back next week for more daily projects to celebrate Citizen Science Month!

About the Author

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.

View posts by Bob Hirshon