The SciStarter team is hitting the road.

The best part of our work is meeting the people who power citizen science either by visiting and joining SciStarter, engaging in projects, or sharing, saving, or facilitating projects and events. If you’re receiving this message, that includes YOU! We’d love to meet you in person at any of the following events. Fingers crossed that … Read more “The SciStarter team is hitting the road.”

Categories: Citizen Science, Citizen Science Conference, Citizen Science Day, Events, Featured Projects, National Citizen Science Day, Newsletter, SciFests, USA Science and Engineering Festival

Innovation in Open Science

Review of Citizen Science: Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy

Susanne Hecker, Muki Haklay, Anne Bowser, Zen Makuch, Johannes Vogel & Aletta Bonn. (2018). Citizen Science: Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy. University College London Press. Scientific progress is intertwined with the triad of the state, the scientist, and the citizen, all of which are emphasized in the field of citizen science. Taking a … Read more “Review of Citizen Science: Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy”

Categories: Book Review, Citizen Science, Education

Take Pictures of Your (Six-Legged) Roommates for Science

Modern Americans spend nearly 90% of their lives indoors. Yet despite all that time inside, we know remarkably little about the life that shares our indoor spaces. This spring, a team at North Carolina State University hopes to change that by asking students to document the creatures they find in their dorms, homes, and apartments … Read more “Take Pictures of Your (Six-Legged) Roommates for Science”

Categories: Citizen Science, EarthSchool, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Other, Project Profile, University

Magazine cover

Hoping for optimality or designing for inclusion: Persistence, learning, and the social network of citizen science

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

SciStarter Logo

About SciStarter’s “Participant API,” used by 50+ citizen science projects (and counting)

I thought it would be helpful to provide a description of what SciStarter’s Participant API is and why a growing number of projects and platforms are implementing it and becoming SciStarter Affiliates in the process. A little background. SciStarter had been “merely” a database where project scientists would add their projects and citizen scientists would find … Read more “About SciStarter’s “Participant API,” used by 50+ citizen science projects (and counting)”

Categories: About Us, Citizen Science, Citizen Science News

Figure 4: Selected air quality sensors at the ADEQ reference monitor site in South Phoenix.

SciStarter, researchers, regulators, and community residents collaborate to test air quality sensors

In early 2018, Scistarter and Arizona State University began the process of collaborating with a local community, Boulder Ridge, to measure the quality of its air. Boulder Ridge is a 55 and older retirement community in Phoenix. Over the past three years, Boulder Ridge residents began to notice increased blasting, crushing, and trucking out of … Read more “SciStarter, researchers, regulators, and community residents collaborate to test air quality sensors”

Categories: Citizen Science, Tools

Book Review — Be the Change: Saving the World with Citizen Science

Chandra Clarke, Be the Change: Saving the World with Citizen Science, 2nd ed. $2.25 Kindle, $6.99 Paperback. Chandra Clarke’s self-published second edition of Be The Change: Saving the World With Citizen Science encourages readers to make the world a better place by engaging in citizen science. The book is divided into two main parts, with … Read more “Book Review — Be the Change: Saving the World with Citizen Science”

Categories: Book Review, Citizen Science

Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities By Design

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

Rams vs. Patriots: Citizen Science Projects with the Science Cheerleaders

We’re highlighting five citizen science projects to celebrate the Super Bowl! In this newsletter, we’re also featuring the Science Cheerleaders: current and former NFL and NBA cheerleaders pursuing science careers. These SciCheers hail from L.A. and Boston. Our editors included a project for all the fans traveling to Atlanta for the big game! Cheers! The … Read more “Rams vs. Patriots: Citizen Science Projects with the Science Cheerleaders”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Featured Projects, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter, Science Cheerleaders

Starting a Citizen Science Club at a University

Why Start a Club? Creating a citizen science student organization is a great way to build community both on campus and in your local community. Citizen science provides a platform for peers to share their individual interests and passions while working together on unique projects. Citizen science student organizations are able to give members an … Read more “Starting a Citizen Science Club at a University”

Categories: Citizen Science, University