Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Mary from Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology

In preparation for this weekend’s USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo, we’re featuring short Q&As with our collaborating partners, so you’ll know exactly what to expect at the Science for Citizens exhibit. Today, I’d like to introduce you to Mary from Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology. She’ll be your go-to expert on all things birds. Stop … Read more “Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Mary from Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology”

Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, USA Science and Engineering Festival

Meet Our Festival Collaborators: Anne from Earthwatch

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

After a clue on colony collapse, what’s status of honey bees?

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

How to be Indiana Jones for the weekend

For those of you who watched “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and wondered how you could go searching for ancient artifacts yourself, here is your chance to get in on some archaeology action. The Calico Early Man Site, located near Yermo, California, is starting its fall digging season this weekend (October 2 and 3) and … Read more “How to be Indiana Jones for the weekend”

Categories: Archeology, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Science Policy

Keep an eye out for hot air over Washington, D.C.

While there might be a lot of metaphorical hot air hovering around Washington, D.C., hazardous weather is no joke. Volunteer scary-weather spotters are needed for many chapters of the SkyWarn network, including the unit that keeps an eye on the sky throughout the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Volunteers are needed to report what the atmospheric forces have … Read more “Keep an eye out for hot air over Washington, D.C.”

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

Mountain monitors needed

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

Snail sleuth wins BBC amateur scientist contest

Ruth Brooks, a gardener with a soft spot for snails, has just won the BBC’s “So You Want to Be a Scientist?” contest. You may recall that she was our favorite when we reported in April on the four finalists for the contest. Brooks’s ground-breaking (if slow) project showed that, contrary to what many scientists … Read more “Snail sleuth wins BBC amateur scientist contest”

Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Contest, In the News, Nature & Outdoors

Don’t know a chickadee from a warbler? There’s an app for that!

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

10 back-to-school projects for citizen scientists

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

Here be dragonflies

While dragonflies and damselflies might belong to the same scientific class as the common housefly, the gossamer-winged zoomers seem a world apart from their less-enchanting six-legged cousins. Sitting outdoors in the San Juan Islands last weekend, I had a chance to observe a few blue dragonflies up close as they swooped in to check out … Read more “Here be dragonflies”

Categories: Citizen Science, Insects, Nature & Outdoors