Covering the people, projects and phenomena of citizen science
Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
Dog Days of Summer
By SciStarter Team, Aug 26, 2021
National Dog Day is August 26. In honor of your furry friend, participate in these simple at-home projects to help researchers learn more about your pup! And use the Project Finder to search for exciting citizen science projects on any topic you can think of (yes, that includes cats).
Put your dog to the test! With treats and a couple minutes of training, any dog owner can participate in this citizen science project with Fido. Just lead your dog through a series of tests (for example, how they respond to different sounds) and submit the data via an online form. Researchers will use data you submit to study animal metacognition, or how much they know about what they know.
Dog owners can share information about their furry friend’s behavior and temperament with researchers in the C-BARQ survey. The goal is to understand where some common behavioral problems come from. Cat lovers can participate, too, in the parallel survey for felines: Fe-BARQ!
The Family Dog Project is currently the largest dog research group in the world. To help them out, fill out surveys about how your dog responds to different noises, how they vocalize and more. They’ll use your responses to study the evolutionary roots of the dog-human relationship.
The University of Lincoln in England is currently recruiting participants for a study on whether dogs are bothered when their humans use mobile phones. Participation includes completing a questionnaire and filming 1-minute videos of yourself at home with your dog over the course of two days.
Recruitment has begun for October’s Great Southern Bioblitz! Learn how you can help document biodiversity in the Southern Hemisphere. Using iNaturalist, the Great Southern Bioblitz asks volunteers to submit images and observations of where different plants, animals and fungi occur, while also pin-pointing invasive species.
In 2020, there were over 150 local government areas involved — from Australia, South America and Africa. Not in the Southern Hemisphere? You can help identify species observations on iNaturalist.
Sign up today to participate from October 21 to October 25.
Taking Environmental Action with Youth: Helping Our Oceans One Piece of Trash at a Time
September 7
Join speakers from SciStarter, the National Girls Collaborative Project and the Aluet Community of St. Paul in Alaska for a webinar to celebrate Costal Clean-Up Month. Learn about ways to tackle environmental action and coastal clean-up at a local, community-based and a nationwide/worldwide level. Speakers will share strategies, reflections and resources for supporting youth to act as citizen scientists and environmental advocates in their communities.
Professional Development for Libraries: How to Host a Citizen Science Program
November 10
RSVP for a webinar to explore how libraries can become partners in citizen science engagement. Learn how to access SciStarter’s library resources, build kits and connect programs and communities to projects featured on SciStarter.
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!
SciStarter connects you to thousands of searchable citizen science projects in need of your help. Use the Project Finder (SciStarter.org/Finder) to find a project to match your location, interests, and age level. Your free SciStarter account will help you earn credit for participating in projects across apps and websites (use the advanced search option at SciStarter.org/Finder to find Affiliate projects eligible for credit in your dashboard). Together, we can move the world forward!
National Dog Day is August 26. In honor of your furry friend, participate in these simple at-home projects to help researchers learn more about your pup! And use the Project Finder to search for exciting citizen science projects on any topic you can think of (yes, that includes cats).
