Author: Caroline Nickerson

Caroline Nickerson is a Program Specialist at SciStarter, where she assists with the Citizen Science Month Program, SciStarter’s Corporate Volunteer Programs, librarhy programs, and other programmatic and outreach efforts. Caroline is a Master of Public Policy graduate from American University, where she was a Reilly Environmental Policy Scholar, and is a current PhD candidate at the University of Florida. She also works with the UF-VA Bioethics Unit, the Christensen Project, Florida Community Innovation, and other organizations. Learn more about her at https://carolinenickerson.com. As a fun fact, she was the 2019 Cherry Blossom Princess representing the state of Florida and the grand prize scholarship winner at Miss Earth USA 2021 as Miss Louisiana Earth.
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Hoping for optimality or designing for inclusion: Persistence, learning, and the social network of citizen science

By Caroline Nickerson, Feb 14, 2019

A new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) analyzes the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a hands-on citizen science project, in the context of a meta-analysis of 54 other projects to “quantitatively explore” citizen science data. The article’s findings suggest that “hands-on citizen … Read more “Hoping for optimality or designing for inclusion: Persistence, learning, and the social network of citizen science”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research

American Spring LIVE

Nature: American Spring LIVE, premieres April 29 on PBS. #citizenscience

By Caroline Nickerson, Jan 30, 2019

Spring is one of nature’s greatest performances – a time of rebirth, renewed energy and dramatic transformations. For three consecutive nights, Monday, April 29 – Wednesday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS, Nature: American Spring LIVE presents the change from winter to spring in real time from iconic locations across America. The series will include … Read more “Nature: American Spring LIVE, premieres April 29 on PBS. #citizenscience”

Categories: Events, In the News

Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities By Design

By Caroline Nickerson, Jan 29, 2019

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,  “Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design” in now available in print. In the last twenty years, citizen science has blossomed as a way to engage a broad range of individuals in doing science. Citizen science projects focus on, but are not limited … Read more “Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities By Design”

Categories: About Us, Citizen Science

Calling all Librarians: Citizen Science Day 2019 Invitation

By Caroline Nickerson, Jan 04, 2019

Dear Librarian, Libraries and similar venues are public spaces where community members, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, economic level, or education level, can engage in a variety of activities.  May we suggest citizen science, which enables ordinary people to advance real scientific research?  Professional scientists need your help, and connecting through citizen science projects offers … Read more “Calling all Librarians: Citizen Science Day 2019 Invitation”

Categories: Citizen Science, Citizen Science News, Events, Gaming

A Year of Citizen Science Calendar: December

By Caroline Nickerson, Dec 07, 2018

As a gift to the citizen science community, this holiday season, SciStarter created a beautiful citizen science calendar!  This calendar was developed with the help of a lot of people. The Citizen Science Association Listserv and Jill Nugent compiled an awesome collection of events, and then Erica Chenoweth took this list and created a Google … Read more “A Year of Citizen Science Calendar: December”

Categories: About Us, Calendar

Webinar: Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design

By Caroline Nickerson, Oct 26, 2018

Thursday, November 111:00 a.m. Please join the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine for a webinar release of this new report from the Board on Science Education. SciStarter’s founder and Professor of Practice at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at ASU, Darlene Cavalier, is a co-author of this report. From … Read more “Webinar: Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design”

Categories: Citizen Science, Other

Team Member Spotlight: Caroline Nickerson

By Caroline Nickerson, Oct 05, 2018

Want to get to know the people behind the curtain a little bit better? Tune in to our “team member spotlight” series! You’ll meet the people who make SciStarter work and learn what makes them tick. One thing we all have in common? A love for citizen science. This week, we’re featuring Caroline Nickerson. Caroline … Read more “Team Member Spotlight: Caroline Nickerson”

Categories: About Us, Citizen Science, SciStarter News, Staff Spotlight

@52CitScientists

By Caroline Nickerson, Sep 30, 2018

The idea for the @52CitScientists account sprang from a conversation between Mar Dixon and Darlene Cavalier. Soon after, they enlisted Zsófi Szendrei to grow the account and make it a success. You can find @52CitScientists on Twitter and Instagram. Mar Dixon is a self-described “troublemaker for sectors who need a kick up the bum.” SciStarter has a unique … Read more “@52CitScientists”

Categories: About Us, Citizen Science, Project Profile, SciStarter News