SciStarter Halloween Special

Just in time for Halloween, here are our picks for citizen science projects that will help ward off primal fears, conspiracy theories and creature phobias. The cure for fear is knowledge, so let science light the way! … Read more

Categories: Events, Newsletter

New Podcast Episode: Cultural Heritage Institutions and Citizen Science

This episode, our second that looks at community and citizen science in cultural heritage institutions, explores how natural history museums use crowdsourcing to unlock the potential of biodiversity collections for research and education. Justin Schell talks to researchers and volunteers involved in the Notes From Nature project, which is one of the largest crowdsourcing projects … Read more “New Podcast Episode: Cultural Heritage Institutions and Citizen Science”

Categories: podcast

Can Citizen Science Help Fight Misinformation and Biased News Coverage?

Post updated on 10/10/2020. In an era of social media bots, deepfakes and “alternative facts,” reliable news is more important than ever. Now, a citizen science project called Public Editor is asking volunteers to help suss out credible news through online analysis. With guidance and support, Public Editor volunteers evaluate sections of news articles for … Read more “Can Citizen Science Help Fight Misinformation and Biased News Coverage?”

Categories: Computers & Technology

Signs of Fall with Nature’s Notebook

Welcome Fall with Nature’s Notebook and the Timberland Regional Library in Washington State for an event focused on documenting signs of seasonal change. Nature’s Notebook is a citizen science project that studies phenology, the study of seasons. Changes in phenological events, like flowering and animal migration, are among the most sensitive biological responses to climate … Read more “Signs of Fall with Nature’s Notebook”

Categories: Environment, Events, libraries

Citizen Science & Libraries: Fall Event Series

Turn your curiosity about health issues into impact with citizen science! Live closed captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) will be available for each event. RSVP for Events Registration for all events is available at SciStarter.org/NLM: 9/30 at 2 PM ET | Citizen Science & Libraries: Advance Alzheimer’s Research Online Presentation and Q&A  10/21 at … Read more “Citizen Science & Libraries: Fall Event Series”

Categories: Citizen Science, Events, libraries, NNLM

NC State Citizen Science Campus: 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium

On September 12, the NC State Citizen Science Campus hosted the 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium. Learn more about the NC State Citizen Science Campus. The event explored questions such as: can citizen science improve higher education? Can higher education improve citizen science? What roles can community colleges, private colleges, land-grant universities, historically … Read more “NC State Citizen Science Campus: 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium”

Categories: CitSci Research, Events

Is Rainwater Safe to Drink? Runoff Collected by Volunteers Offers Clues

Life on Earth needs water to survive. Yet, drinkable water is a rapidly dwindling resource. Out of all the water on our planet, only 2.5 percent is freshwater. And of that 2.5 percent, just 0.3 percent is readily accessible as surface water. According to FreshWaterWatch, by the year 2050, half of the world’s population will … Read more “Is Rainwater Safe to Drink? Runoff Collected by Volunteers Offers Clues”

Categories: Climate & Weather

SciStarter’s Search for Truth

We swim in an ocean of data, from both reliable and questionable sources. The citizen science projects featured below help us learn how to identify and label misleading information, ground-truth geospacial data and advance research about our own biases...all in our search for truth. … Read more

Categories: Citizen Science, In the News, Newsletter

SciStarter Goes Buggy!

This post was originally published as a SciStarter newsletter. Sign up to receive bi-weekly citizen science in your inbox! Citizen science projects featuring insects, spiders and their relatives You can call them “insects, spiders and their relatives” or you can call them “bugs” (and incur the wrath of those who point out that the only true … Read more “SciStarter Goes Buggy!”

Categories: Insects, Newsletter

monarch butterflies migrate

3 Ways to Help Save Monarch Butterflies

Every fall, declining day length triggers one of the most incredible phenomena found in nature: the annual fall migration of monarch butterflies. Across North America, monarchs undertake an epic journey – up to 3,000 miles – to reach their overwintering grounds in Mexico and the California coast. For the eastern population of monarchs, the migratory … Read more “3 Ways to Help Save Monarch Butterflies”

Categories: Nature & Outdoors