The Genetics of Taste: A Bitter Story

The Genetics of Taste citizen science project from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science set out to understand the link between genetics and TAS2R38 gene, responsible for the “bitter” taste receptor. Come to your senses! SciStarter has curated a list of citizen science projects for all five senses. Guest post by Michelle Murphy-Niedziela. Don’t like … Read more “The Genetics of Taste: A Bitter Story”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Guest Contributor

Citizen Science on the Radio: The Great Backyard Bird Count

This week on The Pulse and SciStarter’s segment about citizen science, producer Kimberly Haas  tags along with local birdwatcher Pat Evans as she studies migratory bird patterns and fluxes in bird populations from New Jersey. The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from February 14th to 17th this year, so get started and let us know how many birds … Read more “Citizen Science on the Radio: The Great Backyard Bird Count”

Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, In the News

The RIFFLE Effect: Public Lab’s New Pilot Water Monitoring Sensor Tool

Public Lab announces RIFFLE, a new pilot program and open sensor tool to monitor water quality of Mystic River in Massachusetts. By definition, a riffle is a “short, relatively shallow and coarse-bedded length of stream over which the stream flows at higher velocity and higher turbulence than it normally does in comparison to a pool.” Similarly, Public … Read more “The RIFFLE Effect: Public Lab’s New Pilot Water Monitoring Sensor Tool”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ocean & Water, Science Policy

Notes from Nature: Citizen Science Meets Museum Collections and The Trouble With Transcriptions

This is a guest post from Andrea Thomer and Rob Guralnick from Notes From Nature. See more about the authors below. Find more citizen science projects about words. Notes From Nature (official site) is a citizen science transcription project that launched in April 2013 and is part of the Zooniverse stable of projects.  The goal behind … Read more “Notes from Nature: Citizen Science Meets Museum Collections and The Trouble With Transcriptions”

Categories: Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors

Welcoming Our SciStarter Interns: Mariana, Stephen, and Caroline

SciStarter is welcoming some new interns to our team! Here they are to tell you about their projects. We encourage you to leave a comment to say hello, and don’t be shy about reaching out to them directly about their projects. Hi everyone! My name is Mariana Surillo, and I am a sophomore at Saint … Read more “Welcoming Our SciStarter Interns: Mariana, Stephen, and Caroline”

Categories: Citizen Science

Citizen Science on the Radio: IceWatch USA on WHYY’s the Pulse

This week on The Pulse and SciStarter’s segment about citizen science, producer Kimberly Haas talks to IceWatch USA and Nature’s Notebook (a project of the National Phenology Network) to explore what local bodies of water can tell us about climate change. Listen here! Here’s an excerpt from WHYY’s related blog post: “Concerns about climate change often focus on melting ice: glaciers … Read more “Citizen Science on the Radio: IceWatch USA on WHYY’s the Pulse”

Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, In the News, Nature & Outdoors

Experience NEON’s Citizen Science Academy Online

Are you looking for a way to include citizen science in your teaching but not sure where to start? NEON’s Citizen Science Academy (CSA) is a new professional development resource designed to help educators successfully engage learners in key aspects of citizen science from making observations and measurements, to visualization, and more. NEON’s CSA offers facilitated, … Read more “Experience NEON’s Citizen Science Academy Online”

Categories: Citizen Science, Science Education Standards, Workshops

EPA Launches New Citizen Science Website; Resources Available to Conduct Scientific Investigations in Communities

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revamped its Citizen Science website to provide new resources and success stories to assist the public in conducting scientific research and collecting data to better understand their local environment and address issues of concern. The website can be found here. “Citizen Science is an increasingly important … Read more “EPA Launches New Citizen Science Website; Resources Available to Conduct Scientific Investigations in Communities”

Categories: Climate & Weather, In the News, Science Policy

Webinar: “What’s Being Measured on CitSci.org: Creating Organism and Site Attributes”

CitSci.org will be planning a “Feature Friday” webinar where you, as members of the growing citizen science community, are invited to offer your ideas and thoughts about improvements to CitSci.org. Their team will demonstrate how to use the website feature and take feedback. The January webinar will focus on “What’s Being Measured,” and this discussion … Read more “Webinar: “What’s Being Measured on CitSci.org: Creating Organism and Site Attributes””

Categories: Citizen Science, Events, Workshops