Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Russ Campbell, Sep 22, 2016
By Russ Campbell Brandywine Creek, which runs through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, once poweredBrandywine Creek, which runs through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, once powered the mills that supported European settlements in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Today, people rely on the creek for recreation and as a source of drinking water. SciStarter contributor Russ … Read more “Connecting Citizen Scientists to Watersheds: A Conversation with Kim Hachadoorian”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Project Profile
By Editorial Team, Sep 20, 2016
Join practitioners and researchers from across the field of citizen science from May 17-20 in Saint Paul, Minnesota for the 2017 Citizen Science Association conference. Sessions will span disciplines and sectors, with a focus on making citizen science relevant and useful to more communities. The conference will feature keynote speakers, concurrent sessions and poster presentations, a citizen … Read more “Announcing the 2017 Citizen Science Association Conference”
Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Events
By Kristin Butler, Sep 16, 2016
When we think about climate change, we usually picture extreme temperatures, mega-storms, and rising seas disrupting our collective future. But climate change is also erasing our past. At our poles, melting ice is exposing and washing out new archeological discoveries. In the world’s arid regions, severe sandstorms are unearthing and eroding buried treasures. And on … Read more “Climate Change Uncovers Our Past”
Categories: Archeology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Ocean & Water, Project Profile
By Eva Lewandowski, Sep 15, 2016
Water: We can’t live without it. Photo: USFWS Water is one of our most precious natural resources, so it’s not surprising that there are hundreds of scientists in need of your help to keep an eye on rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, and taps. Below, our editors highlight five water monitoring projects. You can find hundreds … Read more “What’s in YOUR Water?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Newsletter, Ocean & Water
By Carolyn Graybeal, Sep 14, 2016
In the next two posts, as part of our SciStarter in the Classroom collection, guest contributor Ben Graves will share his personal experiences and advice for using citizen science in the classroom. Graves is a fellow with the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation, which supports a small cohort of early-career teachers across the United States with intensive professional development. … Read more “Back To School With Citizen Science: A Conversation with Ben Graves”
Categories: Analyzing and interpreting data, Citizen Science, EarthSchool, Guest Contributor, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards, Science Practices
By Eva Lewandowski, Sep 08, 2016
As students head back to school, more and more teachers are using citizen science in their classrooms to give students authentic science experiences. Below, our editors highlight some of the many excellent citizen science projects that work well in classrooms. You can find even more with the SciStarter Global Project Finder. Cheers! The SciStarter Team
Categories: Citizen Science, Education, Newsletter
By Editorial Team, Sep 07, 2016
The beauty of citizen science is that it gives non-professional researchers the chance to get up close and personal with science. But when SciStarter interviewed citizen scientists this summer, they learned that the number one reason volunteers quit a project was because the scientists never replied to them. Think about all of your experiences collecting data from your … Read more “Conversations in Citizen Science: Alberta Chu of FaceTopo, a project to crowdsource face data!”
Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Project Profile
By Catherine Price, Sep 06, 2016
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual meeting starts this week. We wanted to share this quick information sheet about how SciStarter can be used with your museum, zoo, aquarium, or science center. Please feel free to share or distribute at the meeting. What is SciStarter? SciStarter is a popular online citizen science “hotspot” featuring … Read more “SciStarter at Science Centers, Museums, Zoos, and Aquariums.”
Categories: Citizen Science, Citizen Science News
By Carolyn Graybeal, Sep 01, 2016
Going out of your way to attract mosquitoes seems like the last thing anyone would want to do, but that is exactly what the national Invasive Mosquito Project is hoping volunteers will do in the name of public health. Managed through the United States Department of Agriculture, the Invasive Mosquito Project aims to track the spread of … Read more “Enlisting youth citizen scientists to combat Zika”
Categories: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Biology, Citizen Science, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Ecology & Environment, Education, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Planning and carrying out investigations, Project Profile, Science Practices
By Sharman Apt Russell, Aug 17, 2016
Walking through Purisima Creek Redwoods Reserve in northern California, I am the paparazzi of Western sword ferns (Polystichum munitum). When I find one, I stop and click, click, click my smartphone photos and then approach boldly for a closer look. Are new leaves emerging as curled fronds or fiddleheads? Are there round spots called sori—reproductive … Read more “The Lure of the Redwood Forest”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile
