Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
It all changed the moment Dorothy pushed open the door and stepped out of her house. What a wondrous world – full of color, interesting people, challenges, and opportunities. I am having a hard time describing my experience at the #CitSci2019 Conference in Raleigh, NC, and that is the best I can do. I’ve been … Read more “CitSci2019: Dorothy, Toto, and Me”
The Surfrider Foundation is an international non-profit organization that is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s ocean, waves, and beaches. The Surfrider Foundation works with a large network of grassroots environmentalists, who serve as a first line of response for water quality monitoring on the coastline. The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) … Read more “The Kauai Blue Water Task Force releases their annual water quality report.”
Want to get to know the people behind the curtain a little bit better? Tune in to our “team member spotlight” series! You’ll meet the people who make SciStarter work and learn what makes them tick. One thing we all have in common? A love for citizen science. This week, we’re featuring Erica Prange. Erica … Read more “Team Member Spotlight: Erica Prange”
Have you looked at SciStarter’s event finder lately? We have exciting new additions, including a new webinar series from BirdSleuth K-12! BirdSleuth K-12, an education program run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, supports educators as they help kids connect to nature and develop science skills by participating in citizen science and inquiry. Their free, hour-long webinar … Read more “BirdSleuth K-12 Webinars for Educators”
Want to get to know the people behind the curtain a little bit better? Tune in to our “team member spotlight” series! You’ll meet the people who make SciStarter work and learn what makes them tick. One thing we all have in common? A love for citizen science. This week, we’re featuring Jill Nugent. Jill … Read more “Team Member Spotlight: Jill Nugent”
While you kick back and relax after your Thanksgiving dinner, your gut microbiota – the collection of beneficial microbes, mostly bacteria, that inhabit your lower intestine – will be hard at work breaking down the food you ate and carrying out all kinds of other essential functions. … Read more
How can you protect an astronaut from getting a sunburn in space? The Royal Society of Chemistry in London has designed a collection of hands-on chemistry experiments that kids can do to explore this question and discover the answer for themselves. The project is called Mission: Starlight. It is free and includes downloadable videos, worksheets, and … Read more “Mission: Starlight Uses Space to Spark Curiosity in Chemistry”
By: Lishka Arata Many things distinguish penguins from rocks. There’s color difference (usually), behavior (penguins waddle, rocks don’t), social structure (rocks don’t have one) — the list goes on. But why might someone need to distinguish between rocks and penguins? It’s a skill central to a long-term project that relies on citizen scientists, working from … Read more “How to Tell a Rock from a Penguin: It’s Harder Than It Sounds”
By Lea Shell Middle school students are presented with a bucket of what, at first glance, looks like dirt. They pull handfuls onto their lab bench and carefully begin to sift. “I found a shark tooth!” one student exclaims, prompting the other students to peer more intently at their own piles. Before long, they see … Read more “Why it’s OK to fail: empowering students to discover”
By: Nohra Murad and Jenny Cutraro Maintaining clean waterways: it’s a challenge confronted at the local level by communities across the globe. Stormwater runoff, trash, even sewage overflow, often contaminate urban waterways, degrading wildlife habitat, reducing opportunities for recreation, and placing drinking water supplies at risk. To confront this challenge, citizen scientists across the country … Read more “Protect Your Local Watershed: Become a Streamkeeper!”
