Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
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
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
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
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
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
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
Virtually every galaxy bigger than our Milky Way has a supermassive black hole at its center. These supermassive black holes can weigh tens of millions of times more than our sun. How do black holes grow so gigantic? And why are supermassive black holes at the heart of so many galaxies? A citizen science project … Read more “This Citizen Science Project May Help Explain How Supermassive Black Holes Form”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a time of year when many people by get outside to take part in community clean ups and environmental celebrations. But this year is different. Schools and parks have closed, and we’re left to celebrate while social distancing. This list of citizen science activities and projects can … Read more “Earth Day Activities: These Science Projects Get You Outside Virtually”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, EarthSchool, Ecology & Environment
With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, there’s a good chance you didn’t get around to writing your New Year’s Resolutions. That’s okay! We at SciStarter have done it for you. Eat Better Exercise More Expand Your Mind Meditate Give Back Do Something Squirrel-Related Best of all, we’ve got citizen science projects that will make … Read more “2020: New Year, New Resolutions”
Categories: Citizen Science, Newsletter
You’re Invited! Designed specifically for Verizon’s Corporate Employee Volunteers but open to all, tomorrow’s webinar provides an introduction to citizen science and then to SciStarter, an organization and online portal that helps people find, join, and participate in citizen science projects. A step-by-step guide will show how to use SciStarter to find local to global … Read more “Webinar Tomorrow: Become a Citizen Scientist to Protect the Planet!”
Categories: Citizen Science, Citizen Science Month, Events, webinar
