Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Lea Shell, Jul 06, 2020
Around the world, in thousands of museums, there are millions of specimens representing the known biological diversity of our world. Each one of those specimens is a physical snapshot of time, prepared and preserved by a collector in a carefully curated collection. They’re often pressed in the pages of books, sketched into drawings and notes, … Read more “Museums are Full of Forgotten Treasures. You Can Help Find Them”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment
By Bob Hirshon, Jun 28, 2020
This post was originally published as a SciStarter newsletter. Sign up to receive bi-weekly citizen science in your inbox! You’re a DOER! We love that about you.Nothing can stop you…not even a lack of access to specialized, low-cost tools needed to fully engage in citizen science. Below, we present ways you can build tools and kits … Read more “DIY “Recipes” For Real Science That Needs You”
Categories: Citizen Science, Do-It-Yourself, Tools
By SciStarter Team, Jun 23, 2020
Darlene Cavalier, the Founder of SciStarter, has been named a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer. Darlene Cavalier is a professor of practice at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Professor Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter (a popular citizen science portal and research platform connecting millions of people to real science they … Read more “Darlene Cavalier, founder of SciStarter, named National Geographic Explorer and Fellow”
Categories: About Us, Citizen Science
By Eric Betz, Jun 19, 2020
Deja Perkins loved animals growing up. And by the time she left her native Chicago to attend Tuskegee University in Alabama, she wanted to become a veterinarian, often the only animal-related career introduced to people of color, she says. But it didn’t take long before Perkins realized she’d rather study animals in the natural world. … Read more “#BlackInNature: How Young Scientists are Pushing for Equality”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Other
By Peregrine Bratschi, Max Cawley, and Erin McKenney, Jun 16, 2020
By now, you’ve almost certainly heard the news: Homemade sourdough is the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread. Being stuck in quarantine gives many of us more time to do things around the house, like baking. And stores are short on household staples, including bread, so, sure, might as well give breadmaking a try. But why sourdough … Read more “The Science of Making a Wild Sourdough Starter”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Other
By Colleen Henn and Mara Dias, Jun 05, 2020
In 1984, a small group of California surfers were fed up with the development and water pollution at their favorite break, Malibu’s Surfrider Beach. They took their environmental concerns to California State Parks officials — and prevailed. The Surfrider Foundation was born. Since then, the nonprofit has kept its focus on improving coastal water quality. … Read more “The Government is Scaling Back Water Quality Protections. These Surfers are Picking up the Slack”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment
By Eric Betz, May 30, 2020
A few years ago, Alvaro Antonio Vanegas, a software engineer and avid cyclist, got tired of the air pollution problems in his hometown of Bogota, Colombia. He decided to join forces with an activist already researching the problem, Daniel Bernal, who he’d heard was building his own rudimentary air quality sensors and using them to … Read more “Can This Cheap, DIY Pollution Sensor Help the World Get Clean Air?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Environment
By SciStarter Team, May 26, 2020
Today, over 1.5 billion children are unable to go to school. Beyond public health and the economy, coronavirus is disrupting how we engage and educate younger generations — and a group of global environmental education experts have started a program to help. TED Education, The United Nations Environmental Programme and many other partners launched Earth … Read more “Kids at Home? Earth School Wants to Send Them on a Nature ‘Quest’”
Categories: Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Other
By Andrea Dautant, May 21, 2020
Plastic pollution in our oceans is a major, on-going global crisis. Researchers estimate that 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Much of the plastic is dumped carelessly, on land or in rivers, and then carried or blown into the sea. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are already known … Read more “To Fight Plastic Pollution, These Researchers Want Your Pictures of Beach Trash”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Other
By Molly Schools, May 12, 2020
Kids and adults both coo at the sight of a crawling caterpillar. We imagine that this hungry caterpillar may flutter past someday as a beautiful butterfly. Caterpillars and other insects with segmented bodies are called arthropods. And scientists need your help with a citizen science project aimed at understanding how these insects’ populations are changing. … Read more “How Counting Caterpillars Can Help Scientists Understand Climate Change”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
