Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
Video games: Do you love them or loathe them? When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of them. Nowadays, I find it difficult to get excited about whiling away an hour with a joypad. Now might be a time for a rethink… Recently, I wrote a post that reviewed a new generation of computer … Read more “Digitalkoot, an online game for indexing Finnish newspapers”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Gaming, Guest Contributor
Did you know that you can contribute to science by blowing bubbles? It’s true! The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network is asking citizen scientists in England to use bubbles to calculate wind direction and speed. All you need to do is create a “bubble cone” using a piece of paper and some tape. Then, with some … Read more “How to contribute to science by blowing bubbles”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Chemistry, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
This guest post was contributed by Dr. Stuart Farrimond, a science teacher at Wiltshire College in the United Kingdom. If you’ve ever felt like you could be an undiscovered genius, then today’s blog post is for you! Get ready to use your grey matter to push back the boundaries of science… by playing video games! … Read more “Dr. Stu’s Reviews: citizen science puzzles”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Chemistry, Computers & Technology
iPhones, Androids phones, and other mobile devices are making it incredibly easy for citizen scientists to make observations and share their findings with researchers. Mobile apps are already aiding the study of wildlife, invasive plant species, and even acoustics, just to name a few. You could say that apps are the hottest thing in citizen science! … Read more “Temperature Blast: a new mobile app for climate studies”
Categories: Citizen Science
This is National Invasive Species Awareness Week! Invasive species represent a significant threat to native plants, animals, and humans. They cause enormous disruptions in the natural ecological balance, inducing erosion, crowding out food sources, and reducing biodiversity. Invasive species are also a significant drain on the national economy. If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area today … Read more “Get involved in National Invasive Species Awareness Week 2011”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Ecology & Environment, Geology & Earth Sciences, In the News, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Science Policy
Have you ever seen the Milky Way from where you live? Most of us have not, and it’s largely due to increased light pollution from outdoor lighting. Light pollution not only wastes billions of dollars a year in energy and money but it causes human sleep disorders and disrupts habits critical to ecology. Globe at … Read more “Be a star: join the international star-hunt!”
Categories: Apps, Astronomy & Space, Computers & Technology, Nature & Outdoors
Ponder for a moment this quote written by Aldo Leopold in the late 1940s: “We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, or otherwise have faith in.” Food for thought, especially if you are a citizen scientist like I am. And even more so if you are a citizen … Read more “How citizen science will save the planet”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards, Science Policy
Shake off your Valentine’s Day chocolate-induced haze and break out those binoculars: The Great Backyard Bird Count 2011 takes place this Friday through next Monday, February 18 to 21. The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event during which bird watchers count birds to create a real-time snapshot of where birds are located … Read more “Join The Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend!”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
As we mentioned in an earlier post, Bard College recently created an intensive three-week program in citizen science to be taken by all freshmen each January. I was able to discuss the tremendously successful inaugural session with one of the program’s instructors, Dr. Kate Seip. Seip, a postdoctoral researcher at The Rockefeller University, had participated … Read more “The first class of Citizen Scientists: Faculty perspective”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Science Education Standards
