For many of us, summertime isn’t just for outdoor activities. The long days are a chance to explore new worlds through books. And one of the best ways to engage is by joining a summer reading program, like the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), through your local library. This year’s theme is Tails and Tales, and it’s the perfect opportunity to pair stories about the natural world with citizen science projects ideal for kids and people of all ages.
In this newsletter, we’ve picked out a selection of our favorite tails-themed CitSci projects! Looking for even more citizen science projects, along with book recommendations? Explore handouts and reading lists about animal observations and zoonosis created by SciStarter and the Network of the National Library of Medicine.
With Snapshot Safari, you’ll comb through millions of wildlife cam images spotting different creatures. The crowdsourced data helps classify and protect African animals.
Feeling wild? A new game that features citizen science projects is launching this summer. Targeted toward young adults, the WildSpot app invites people to explore National Parks in the United States, to complete quests and to discover citizen science projects.
Complete a questionnaire with insights into some of our favorite tailed creatures: dogs. The C-BARQ (or Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire) offers pet owners and researchers standardized evaluations of dog behavior.
With QuestaGame, you’ll find plants and animals, take photographs, join quests, link up with clans, complete challenges and have a great time with this outdoor mobile adventure game.
Black squirrels were once common in ancient, old-growth forests. Now they’re most common in cities. To understand why squirrel colors are so different, SquirrelMapper wants volunteers to report squirrel sightings and help classify squirrel color.
June 23, 5:30 PM ET
How should communities build resilience for dealing with sea level rise in the coming decades?
In this facilitated, interactive program, explore the social, economic and environmental impacts of sea level rise, work with others to recommend resilience strategies and learn about how participating in community and citizen science can help inform scientists about which communities are at risk for flooding.
SciStarter, in partnership with Arizona State University, is excited to announce the launch of the National Citizen and Community Science Library Network! Public, private and academic libraries are all invited to join.
The goal of this network is to provide resources, support and connections to libraries across the country interested in becoming community hubs for citizen science. In addition to other resources, featured on the Network’s SciStarter page is a new $1,600 grant opportunity for public libraries in the United States.
Citizen Science Training
With support from the National Library of Medicine, SciStarter and other partners have assembled a tutorial and accompanying module to help people from all walks of life engage in science and bring citizen science to new communities. Part one of the training helps you learn the basics of citizen science, participate in projects and make the most of SciStarter. Then, there is an additional training module geared toward librarians and library staff.
Transparent, AI-powered Citizen Science Project Recommendations
Finding the right citizen science project for you out of thousands featured on SciStarter can be challenging. That’s why SciStarter collaborated with Ben-Gurion University to create a transparent, AI-powered recommendation system. Learn about updates and how you can use this tool in a new blog post.
Find the Right Project For You
New On the Blogs
TESS Needs Your Help Finding New Worlds via Astronomy magazine
4 NASA Citizen Science Projects to Do in the Classroom via the SciStarter
The Los Angeles Public Library: Make Every Walk a Nature Walk via the SciStarter Blog
Discover more citizen science on the SciStarter calendar. Did you know your SciStarter dashboard helps you track your contributions to projects? Complete your profile to access free tools. Want even more citizen science? Check out SciStarter’s Project Finder! With citizen science projects spanning every field of research, task and age group, there’s something for everyone!
“Tails and Tales” artwork and slogan are used with permission from CSLP.
