It’s Time to Count the Stars

Wow! Take a look at the map on the Great World Wide Star Count website. The fall campaign started yesterday and already there are oodles of citizen scientists from around the world posting their data. Citizen scientists from China, Australia, India, Kuwait, Egypt, South Africa, the European Union, Canada, United States, and Mexico have gotten involved so far. They are all looking at how bright the stars are overhead to help us get a better understanding of how streetlights, porch lights, car headlights and other nighttime lights affect how we see the stars in the sky. … Read more

Categories: Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science

Citizen Science: the Animated Movie

There should be more animated movies about citizen science, don’t you think? Thankfully, the people at a weather-focused citizen science project called the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow project (known by the funny acronym CoCoRaHS) have made this video! It tells the story of how the project started and explains how people all over the country are getting involved. Watch and find out how you can become a CoCoRaHS volunteer too! … Read more

Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather

NIH Lab Challenge: Submit your best citizen science experiments!

  Here’s your chance to help bring citizen science to the classroom — and win a little recognition in the process! The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is asking people to send in their best experiments for kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms. After you submit your experiments, a panel of classroom teachers, students, scientists, and NIH … Read more “NIH Lab Challenge: Submit your best citizen science experiments!”

Categories: Science Education Standards, Science Policy

Fall into Citizen Science – Watch a Plant!

Plants have a lot going on as autumn temperatures cool. Some leaves turn bright yellow or red and fall from trees. Fruits grow large and ripe. Grasses become brittle and brown. Some flowers, like California poppies, bloom in the autumn too. Project BudBurst is looking for volunteers to take note of what plants are doing as the seasons change. During the “Fall into Phenology” event volunteers around the country will be heading outside between September 17 and 26 to collect data about how plants respond to changes in their environment. … Read more

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Events, Nature & Outdoors

10 back-to-school projects for young citizen scientists

As summer comes to a close, a young person’s fancy may turn to fretting at the thought of being cooped up in a classroom. But for fans of science and nature—and by that we mean kids who like to watch clouds, hunt mushrooms, prowl around graveyards, and check out what gets squashed on the side … Read more “10 back-to-school projects for young citizen scientists”

Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Biology, Birds, Chemistry, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Education, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Physics, Science Education Standards

Citizen Science Cheerleaders Head To Vegas

Meet the Science Cheerleaders. This team of more than 100 NFL and NBA cheerleaders-turned-scientists and engineers is ready to cheer for citizen science. ScienceCheerleader.com, our sister-site, aims to inspire the 3 million little cheerleaders in the U.S. to consider careers in science and engineering, while playfully challenge stereotypes and encouraging participation in any of the … Read more “Citizen Science Cheerleaders Head To Vegas”

Categories: Education, Science Cheerleaders, Science Education Standards

Citizen Science Opportunities with The American Chestnut Foundation

Sara Fitzsimmons is the Regional Science Coordinator at The American Chestnut Foundation The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to restoring the American chestnut (Castanea dentate) to its original range. Once estimated to be 25% of the Appalachian forests, the species was all but eliminated from the landscape by an imported fungal … Read more “Citizen Science Opportunities with The American Chestnut Foundation”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Education, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards