If you’re spending time with family and friends, here are activities to do together to discover more about your mental, biological and genetic health and more. Feast upon these delectable citizen science projects guaranteed to satisfy even the most insatiable curiosity!
Thank you for being part of our growing family (150,000 strong now!) of thinkers and doers.
Happy Thanksgiving.
The SciStarter Team
Discover how to be a DNA detective by helping those searching for biological identity and genetic health history by testing your own DNA and sharing your family tree information to help connect family ties. This project requires you to order a DNA test from Ancestry DNA, 23 and Me, MyHeritage or Family Tree DNA.
Location: Online/Anywhere
Spot a turkey!
Join the 15,000+ volunteers who look through online images from camera traps placed in the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve at the intersection of three of North America’s largest biomes. Although much has been learned over the past 75+ years, most of the previous studies have focused on plants and soils. How and when mammals and birds use these diverse habitats and what role they play in these ecosystems remains unclear… with your help, we’ll learn more!
Location: Online/Anywhere
Dining on seafood?
Contribute data on your meal to researchers from the South Carolina Aquarium by uploading photos and information about your seafood. These researchers want to learn about where your seafood was harvested to help aid and inform others about sustainable fisheries and to study the health of our oceans.
Location: Online/Anywhere
Help others (and yourself) with mental health this holiday season.
Aid research and development of mental health social support networks by downloading a free app and participating via a chatbot. The chatbot “CoAct for Mental Health” is used to help researchers understand how your mental health social support networks work to propose actions to strengthen them in the future.
Location: Online/Anywhere
Results are in from the Great North American Fungi Quest
Learn more about the largest fungi bioblitz in North America’s History!
For one month this fall, citizen scientists across North America shared as many observations of fungi as they could. Discover what people found and what we’ve learned from the data so far.
- Read the Citizen Science Salon blog post on Discovermagazine.com
- Watch the SciStarter LIVE! on our YouTube channel
- Listen to our the SciStarter Podcast episode
November 29th is #GivingTuesday
Consider making a charitable tax-deductible contribution to the SciStarter Fund to help us help more people discover opportunities to participate in real science that matters to them….to you…to all of us!
Click here to donate to the SciStarter Fund administered by the Miami Foundation.
Thank you!
Science Near Me
Visit Science Near Me to find all kinds of science events and programs near you. Bonus: You can use your SciStarter account to log in to Science Near Me!
SciStarter LIVE!
Join us live (on Zoom!) every Tuesday at 2 pm ET.
November 29th:
The Essential 2023 Citizen Science Gift Guide
Looking for holiday gift ideas for your science-curious friends and family? Then don’t miss this live event featuring this season’s must-have gifts for the citizen scientist in your life!
New Blogs:
- This Citizen Science Project is Taking On Roadkill – and Potentially Saving Animals
- Five A+ Projects for Your Classroom or Living Room
- Who Needs Data Literacy Anyway?
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!
