Citizen Science Month events for and from libraries!

Librarians: Visit CitizenScienceMonth.org and “share” and promote any event, particularly those hosted by fellow librarians! Citizen Science 101: A Beginner’s Guide! Simple repost the Facebook recording of the 4/1 event to introduce your community to Citizen Science! Citizen Science for the Stars! A special event from NASA’s Night Sky Network, SciStarter and Astronomy Magazine Wednesday, … Read more “Citizen Science Month events for and from libraries!”

Categories: Other

A hand holding a smartphone in the woods. On screen is the Mountain Rain or Snow website.

How can it snow when temperatures are above freezing? Mountain Rain or Snow has the answer — and wants your help studying it

A glimpse at the temperature during the next snowfall might surprise you: It may not actually be below freezing outside. Don’t worry, your thermometer isn’t broken, and you didn’t miss a memo about a change in the laws of physics. There’s a straightforward reason why it can snow above 32°F — though it does make … Read more “How can it snow when temperatures are above freezing? Mountain Rain or Snow has the answer — and wants your help studying it”

Categories: Citizen Science, Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Other

This image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a cross-section of the undersea, land and sky at Tafeu Cove in American Somoa.

Exploring Earth with NOAA Citizen Science

This post is based on the latest episode of our podcast, Citizen Science: Stories of Science We Can Do Together! In it, co-host Bob Hirshon and Caroline Nickerson discuss some of the inspiring citizen science work conducted under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Listen here: Citizen Science: Stories of Science … Read more “Exploring Earth with NOAA Citizen Science”

Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Education, Environment, Featured Projects, Geology & Earth Sciences, Ocean & Water, Other, podcast

Science Near Me: Explore. Experience. Engage.

Science Near Me: Connecting Curious People With Opportunities To Explore, Experience and Engage In Science

People across the country are looking for opportunities to directly engage with scientific research on a meaningful level. That means interacting with scientists and their research directly, instead of just reading about it in journals and magazines. The desire for true interaction isn’t so hard to understand. Extreme weather around the world is pushing many … Read more “Science Near Me: Connecting Curious People With Opportunities To Explore, Experience and Engage In Science”

Categories: Other

As Ghost Forests Spread, Researchers Ask for Help Keeping Track

  Have you seen a ghost forest? As sea levels rise around the world, coastlines are increasingly marked by lingering stands of dead trees. The cause of death isn’t a mystery. Sea level rise is intensifying the effects of flooding and pushing saltwater into low lying coastal ecosystems. That saltwater kills the trees, leaving behind … Read more “As Ghost Forests Spread, Researchers Ask for Help Keeping Track”

Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Other

citizen scientist

Uncovering the Secrets of the Egyptian Geniza With Citizen Science

For nearly a thousand years, Jews at the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo stored their worn-out, torn, or otherwise unusable manuscript fragments — everything from biblical texts to business ledgers, Talmudic commentaries to children’s writing exercises — in the geniza, or storage room. During the nineteenth century, the archive was excavated by British academics … Read more “Uncovering the Secrets of the Egyptian Geniza With Citizen Science”

Categories: Citizen Science, Other, Project Profile

Help Fight Light Pollution With a Science Experiment From Your Local Library

For most of human history, we slept under the stars. Instead of staring at electronic screens, our ancestors watched the light from the heavens. Things have changed dramatically in recent decades. Seven out of 10 people living in the U.S. today have never seen the Milky Way. Light pollution from street lights, homes, businesses and … Read more “Help Fight Light Pollution With a Science Experiment From Your Local Library”

Categories: Astronomy & Space, Other

Citizen Science Month Mini Grants Awarded by the Network of the National Library of Medicine to 15 Libraries

Anyone, anywhere can plan a Citizen Science Month (April 2021) program or effort! SciStarter and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) at Arizona State University, with support from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM), are engaging the public to help speed up research on … Read more “Citizen Science Month Mini Grants Awarded by the Network of the National Library of Medicine to 15 Libraries”

Categories: Citizen Science Month, Other

Citizen Scientists Have Found Dozens of ‘Failed Stars’ Near Earth

Sometimes the old methods truly are the best methods. When astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930, it was the result of countless hours spent straining his eyes at a machine called a blink comparator. Using it, Tombaugh could flip rapidly back and forth between two images of the night sky taken at slightly different … Read more “Citizen Scientists Have Found Dozens of ‘Failed Stars’ Near Earth”

Categories: Astronomy & Space, Other

How a Christmas Tradition has Helped Track Billions of Vanishing Birds

Every year around Christmas time, tens of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers gather in familiar locations across the Western Hemisphere for a tradition that dates back more than a century. On select days between December 14 and January 5, volunteers with the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count take a census of every bird they see … Read more “How a Christmas Tradition has Helped Track Billions of Vanishing Birds”

Categories: Animals, Other