Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Elizabeth Walter, Nov 15, 2010
High in the mountains of Montana’s Glacier National Park, rangers need the help of citizen scientists like you to keep an eye on local flora and fauna. As a trained volunteer, you can help survey the loon population at many of the park’s stunning alpine lakes. As you hike, keep an ear out for the … Read more “Loony days and weed watching in Glacier National Park”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
By John Ohab, Oct 22, 2010
There’s only one more day until this weekend’s USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo in Washington, DC! The Science for Citizens team has been hard at work putting together an engaging, interesting, and fun exhibit featuring some terrific citizen science projects. Remember, we’ll be at Section PA-13, Booth Numbers 1229 and 1231, on Pennsylvania Ave … Read more “Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Steve from JellyWatch”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Science Education Standards, USA Science and Engineering Festival
By John Ohab, Oct 21, 2010
The USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo is just two days away, and Science for Citizens is excited to be partnering with several fantastic citizen science organizations for our exhibit. Today, I’d like to introduce you to Lindsay from Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, an estuarine site in the state of Maryland about 20 miles east of … Read more “Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Lindsay from Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Science Education Standards, USA Science and Engineering Festival
By John Ohab, Oct 19, 2010
The USA Science & Engineering Festival culminates this weekend, October 23-24, with a ginormous Expo featuring over 1,500 fun activities on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Science for Citizens team will be there to host our very own exhibit, which will feature several partner citizen science organizations and opportunities to participate in real, … Read more “Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Anne from Earthwatch”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards, USA Science and Engineering Festival
By Michael Gold, Oct 12, 2010
The mysterious widespread deaths of honey bees over the last four years has been a great worry, both to backyard gardeners and large agricultural companies. That’s why it was such welcome news last week when Army scientists in Maryland and bee experts in Montana reported they had discovered a likely cause: a fatal combination of … Read more “After a clue on colony collapse, what’s status of honey bees?”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
By Elizabeth Walter, Sep 16, 2010
Crisp fall air in the northeastern Appalachian Mountains will soon signal trees to splash entire hillsides with red, yellow, and orange as far as the eye can see. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) hopes that many future generations of hikers will be able to enjoy similarly colorful views to the horizon. However, they need your … Read more “Mountain monitors needed”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
By Darlene Cavalier, Sep 13, 2010
Love ’em or not, squirrels play an important role in local ecology. Mapping changes in their population can help researchers better understand–and predict–a range of corollary environmental changes. As described on the Project Squirrel website, “Squirrels can be important indicators of local ecology because they are resident in small territories and active year round, they … Read more “Squirrels: spot, jot, share your sightings”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment
By Darlene Cavalier, Sep 08, 2010
Looking for a convenient way to identify birds during your next citizen science excursion? Consider the WildLab Bird iPhone app, which uses photographs, audio, and maps to help you determine which bird you’ve spotted and makes it easy to share the observation with researchers at Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology. Here’s how it works: Visit … Read more “Don’t know a chickadee from a warbler? There’s an app for that!”
Categories: Animals, Apps, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By Michael Gold, Sep 03, 2010
As summer comes to a close, a young person’s fancy may turn to fretting at the thought of being cooped up in a classroom. But for fans of science and nature—and by that we mean kids who like to watch clouds, hunt mushrooms, prowl around graveyards, and check out what gets squashed on the side … Read more “10 back-to-school projects for citizen scientists”
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Physics
By Susan West, Aug 31, 2010
Sometimes, science is the happy companion of art. Take Spiral Jetty, a piece by the late sculptor Robert Smithson. In 1970, Smithson arranged 6,650 tons of basalt boulders into a spiral that reaches 1,500 feet into the Great Salt Lake. Built during a drought, the stony coil soon disappeared beneath the lake’s rising, algae-reddened waters. … Read more “Picture Post: the art of citizen science”
Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment