Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Darlene Cavalier, Feb 18, 2013
When I first became involved in online professional development (PD) courses about 10 years ago, the casual approach to participation in terms of time and attire were often noted as desirable features. An often-touted advantage to online PD was that individuals could participate at 3 a.m. wearing pajamas and bunny slippers. Over the years, … Read more “Citizen Science Academy: Bunny Slippers Optional”
Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Workshops
By Darlene Cavalier, Jan 20, 2013
SciStarter asked Craig Newmark (of Craigslist fame) why he likes squirrels. He told us that it all started with a simple desire to feed birds. But the suet palaces he was using to dispense the raw, fat-based bird food were constantly getting hacked by squirrels. He tried everything; he even upgraded to “squirrel-resistant” models, to … Read more “On this, National Squirrel Day, we feature Craig Newmark and squirrelly citizen science.”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Contest, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, Nature & Outdoors
By John Ohab, Jan 03, 2013
What would it be like without stars at night? What is it we lose? Starry night skies have given us poetry, art, music and the wonder to explore. A bright night sky (aka “light pollution”) affects energy consumption, health and wildlife too. Spend a few minutes to help scientists by measuring the brightness of your … Read more “Join the international star hunt!”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Guest Contributor
By John Ohab, Sep 19, 2012
As cold and flu season approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, many people are starting to think about what they can do to avoid getting sick. To help prevent illnesses, public health advice needs to be based on solid scientific evidence. The Health Tracking Network is a citizen science project designed to fill some of these … Read more “Help find ways to prevent the common cold and flu!”
Categories: Guest Contributor, Health
By Darlene Cavalier, May 03, 2012
RESTON, Va. — Thanks to citizen-scientists around the country, the USA National Phenology Network hit a major milestone this week by reaching its one millionth nature observation. The millionth observation was done by Lucille Tower, a citizen-scientist in Portland, Ore., who entered a record about seeing maple vines flowering. Her data, like all of the … Read more ““Citizens Have Contributed One Million Observations to Top Nature Database.””
Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor
By Darlene Cavalier, Mar 13, 2012
Sergei Winogradsky discovered nitrifying bacteria in 1890, recognizing that these microbes convert ammonia to nitrate (via nitrite). In aquatic environments, ammonia toxicity to fish is avoided almost exclusively due to the activity of these bacteria…or so it was thought. The ability to remove (or oxidize) ammonia was discovered recently in Archaea, which are an entirely … Read more “Aquarium microbial ecology: a living room approach to citizen science”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor
By Darlene Cavalier, Feb 24, 2012
For most people, a citizen science project provides a way to address a specific scientific challenge with the help of volunteers. For a group of researchers from MIT, UCSD, Masdar Institute, and University of Southampton, it is also an opportunity to study what motivates people to join the project. Would you rather receive a badge, … Read more “Incentives for citizen scientists: report, recruit, verify”
Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor
By Darlene Cavalier, Feb 02, 2012
Most of us are aware of the bacteria on the surfaces we come in contact with. The doorknob for the bathroom, coins and paper currency in our pockets, handrails in subway cars, computer keyboards and mice at the library… the list of built environments on which microbes thrive is nearly endless. In our preoccupation with … Read more “Who’s the boss: Home or human microbiomes?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor
By John Ohab, Oct 18, 2011
The Sungrazer project allows amateur astronomers world-wide to discover comets in images from NASA's SOHO and STEREO missions... now with over 2000 discoveries! … Read more
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Guest Contributor, Physics
By John Ohab, Jul 11, 2011
In July of 2009, a friend and I arrived at a lake to collect water samples for work. We had worked at the lake many times, but something was different that day: several hundred dragonflies were flying over the grass. We often saw dragonflies, but there were 50 times the usual number and they weren’t … Read more “Studying Dragonfly Swarms with Citizen Science”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, In the News, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
