Six Halloween Treats for Citizen Scientists

Zombees and spiders and bats,
Oh MY!
Drag your bones over,
give these a TRY!

Our editors selected these six projects to enchant, haunt, and amaze you this Halloween!

Cheers!
The SciStarter Team

Frankenstein200 puts you in the middle of a story where Mary Shelley’s classic tale collides with modern science. Perform experiments, explore hidden areas of research, and assist a pair of young scientists as they unravel a mystery in a cutting-edge digital experience that just happens to advance social science research in the process!

Location: Global

Get Started!

Record the arthropod biodiversity of your daily life! Photograph the insects and other animals to survey the arthropods that call your house “home”.

Location: Global

Get Started!

Want to study bats without venturing out into the dark of night? With this completely online project, you can do just that, by listening to bat recordings and classifying what you hear.

Location: Entirely Online

Get Started!

This time of year spiders start to make their way inside. They might be adding some festive decorations to your porch or setting up shop in your basements, but now you can help scientists track the distribution of spiders around the world.

Location: Global

Get Started!

Pumpkin, cucumber, and other cucurbit plants are grown and enjoyed all over the world, yet we know very little about the microbes and insects associated with them. Share pictures of insects on your cucurbit plants to help scientists learn more about the plant-insect relationships of these versatile fruits.

Location: Global

Get Started!

The grim Zombie Fly is parasitizing honey bees across North America and potentially spreading throughout the continent. Collect and observe bees in your area to see if they have been infected.

Location: North America

Get Started!

Learn more about citizen science for youth. This awesome video, produced by Discovery Education in collaboration with the Girl Scouts, features SciStarter’s Founder, Darlene Cavalier, and some of your favorite citizen science projects! Consider sharing it with educators, students, troops and your young pals.

Virtual Field Trip. This first-ever girl-led virtual field trip transports students on an adventure to the Girl Scouts’ STEM Center of Excellence in Dallas, TX where STEM comes alive in meaningful ways through citizen science!

Get Started!

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 1100+ citizen science projects spanning every field of research, task and age group, there’s something for everyone!

Categories: Bats, Citizen Science, Education, Featured Projects, Insects, Newsletter, videos

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About the Author

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Lea Shell

Lea worked at North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. She previously managed education initiatives and authored SciStarter's bi-weekly newsletter. Lea is also a co-founder and co-owner of Essential Montessori, where she designs and hand-crafts learning Montessori-inspired materials for young children.