Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By John Ohab, Jun 17, 2011
Next week is National Pollinator Week! Pollinators, like bees, birds, and butterflies, play an important role in all of our lives. They aid in flowering plant reproduction, help ensure the health of national forests and grasslands, and work together with famers and ranchers in the production of fruits and vegetables. National Pollinator Week is a yearly … Read more “Celebrate Father’s Day at the Pollinator-Palooza”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By Lisa Gardiner, Jun 14, 2011
Wherever you are – anywhere in the world – on June 21st consider taking and submitting a photo of a blank white piece of paper between 5:00 and 8:00 pm. Your photo will not be just a picture of a pretty white piece of paper, it will be scientific data used to calculate earth’s albedo … Read more “Snap a picture and measure albedo!”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Physics
By John Ohab, Jun 07, 2011
I love being in the outdoors amongst nature – but then who doesn’t? I also have a fascination for all things technological. Sadly, all too often these two passions are incompatible. For as us techie-lovers know, too many an hour can be spent cooped up inside staring at a computer screen. The emergence of the … Read more “Leafsnap: a mobile app to identify tree species”
Categories: Apps, Biology, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By John Ohab, May 11, 2011
It’s spring — time to get outside and contribute to science! The Cloned Plants Project needs citizen scientists to observe the leafing and flowering of cloned plants, like lilacs and dogwoods, and submit their findings to researchers. These observations will help researchers better understand the interaction between the atmosphere (weather and climate) and the biosphere … Read more “The Cloned Plants Project: contribute to climate change research”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
By Elizabeth Walter, May 05, 2011
Up north, in Washington State’s tranquil San Juan Islands, members of the Kwiáht marine research team are hard at work keeping an eye on local sea life and terrestrial critters. Kwiaht, a word in the Coast Salish dialect, refers to a place that is physically healthy and spiritually clean. The group hopes to ensure the … Read more “Citizen scientists make a difference in the San Juans”
Categories: Animals, Bats, Chemistry, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By Elizabeth Walter, May 01, 2011
As a child growing up in New Hampshire, I remember going with my mother to collect Monarch chrysalises for my science classes. We’d park off a nearby roadway, spy a patch of milkweed, and poke around until we found a chrysalis or two. During the next week or so, my classmates and I watched spellbound … Read more “May is the month to monitor Monarchs”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By Darlene Cavalier, Apr 28, 2011
This morning, my son spotted a squirrel from our window and said “Mom, hurry, take a picture!” (He’s grown accustomed to spotting and photographing squirrels, birds and insects for various citizen science projects. In this case, it’s for Project Squirrel.) I grabbed my iphone and, using its built in camera, snapped away as the squirrel … Read more “How Project Squirrel saved my dog.”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors
By John Ohab, Apr 22, 2011
Today is Earth Day, a perfect excuse to get out and help the planet! Researchers need YOUR help tracking the presence of American robins, so they can compare your observations with other environmental data, including climate and weather changes. American robins are arriving in the Colorado Rockies 14 days earlier than they did 30 years ago … Read more “It’s Earth Day! Five ways to help the planet”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Geology & Earth Sciences, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By John Ohab, Apr 14, 2011
You’re invited to join Science for Citizens at the Philadelphia Science Festival Carnival on the Ben Franklin Parkway this Saturday, April 16! The festival promises to be an event like no other, with over 80 exhibitors offering non-stop family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, games, and a packed line-up of live entertainment. Best of all, the event … Read more “Join us at the Philadelphia Science Festival this Saturday”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By Anne Toomey,
Energy is a strange thing. It floats around you, fills you up until you’re about ready to burst, and then it skips off, leaving you to keep up as best you can. Last Thursday and Friday were two full days of such energy, when 60 professionals from such exotic places as Alaska, Colombia and New … Read more “Conversations about conservation: public participation in scientific research”
Categories: Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, In the News, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Science Education Standards, Science Policy
