We want your germs! For Citizen Science!

Microbes are germs and they are everywhere! Most are good for you. Some are not. Learning more about microbes (where they live, how they behave) can teach us more about their influence on diseases, cures, and our entire ecosystem. Here are five microbial citizen science projects you can do now. Cheers! The SciStarter Team

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Health, Newsletter

Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Helps Citizen Scientists Build Connections to Nature

Editors Note: This post by SciStarter contributor Eva Lewandowski describes her experiences with citizen scientists from the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, which was featured in our recent Spring themed newsletter. Check out the rest of the projects on that list here. The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project is also one of more than 800 citizen science … Read more “Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Helps Citizen Scientists Build Connections to Nature”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

Is Climate Change Causing the Seasons to Change? Citizen Scientists in the UK Help Find Out with Nature’s Calendar

Interested in more spring themed citizen science projects? Check out the ones the SciStarter team has handpicked for you here! Or use SciStarter’s project finder to find one that piques your curiosity! In 1998 Tim Sparks, a research biologist at Britain’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Cambridge started a pilot project designed to record … Read more “Is Climate Change Causing the Seasons to Change? Citizen Scientists in the UK Help Find Out with Nature’s Calendar”

Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

Nature’s Notebook: Through the Eyes of a Citizen Scientist

This guest post by Sharman Apt Russel describes a citizen science experience with the the project, Nature’s Notebook featured on our recent Spring themed newsletter. Check out the rest of the projects on that list here. Nature’s Notebook is also one of more than 800 citizen science projects on SciStarter. Use our project finder to find … Read more “Nature’s Notebook: Through the Eyes of a Citizen Scientist”

Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

White House Recognizes Importance of Citizen Science

“Citizen Science” movement gaining ground through organizations including SciStarter   PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (March 23, 2015) – Citizen science engages the public in important research, and SciStarter is leading the way for scientists, enthusiasts and students to connect and collaborate on research. Even as President Obama recognizes the intelligence and effort of students at the White … Read more “White House Recognizes Importance of Citizen Science”

Categories: Citizen Science

Journey North: Tracking the Stories of Survival with Citizen Science

  It was a crisp morning following a cold night in Goleta’s Coronado Monarch Butterfly Preserve. As Luke crossed a beam that had been dropped across a swampy area, he looked up at the Eucalyptus grove and sighed quietly. “Where are the butterflies Dad,” he asked me—with one part expectation and one part disappointment.

Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

Finding our origins: The Genographic Project uses genetics to map the past

Have you ever tried tracing back your family tree only to get stuck at great great Grandpa Jim? Are you curious about who your ancestors were and where they might have come from? If so, you’ll definitely want to check out National Geographic’s The Genographic Project. Not only will you learn about your lineage but … Read more “Finding our origins: The Genographic Project uses genetics to map the past”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science

The Next Big Drug Discovery Could Come From a Scoop of Soil in Your Backyard

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Dr Robert H. Cichewicz. Director of the University of Oklahoma, Institute for Natural Products Applications and Research Technologies (INPART). Dr Cichewicz leads the Citizen Science Soil Collection Program which is focused on translating natural products into therapeutic leads to combat cancer, infectious diseases, and other unmet medical needs. Visit the project page … Read more “The Next Big Drug Discovery Could Come From a Scoop of Soil in Your Backyard”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

Are Food Deserts also Food Monocultures? Proposing a Citizen Science Project in Urban Ecology

Editor’s Note: This is a two-part post, a version of which first appeared on the author’s blog. Drive through the United States, and one thing you will notice is a high degree of repetition in the scenery. Highways cross through large fields of near-identical corn and soy crops, punctuated by towns containing a similarly small set … Read more “Are Food Deserts also Food Monocultures? Proposing a Citizen Science Project in Urban Ecology”

Categories: Citizen Science