Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Eric Betz, May 30, 2020
A few years ago, Alvaro Antonio Vanegas, a software engineer and avid cyclist, got tired of the air pollution problems in his hometown of Bogota, Colombia. He decided to join forces with an activist already researching the problem, Daniel Bernal, who he’d heard was building his own rudimentary air quality sensors and using them to … Read more “Can This Cheap, DIY Pollution Sensor Help the World Get Clean Air?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Environment
By Margaret Hinrichs, Feb 04, 2019
In early 2018, Scistarter and Arizona State University began the process of collaborating with a local community, Boulder Ridge, to measure the quality of its air. Boulder Ridge is a 55 and older retirement community in Phoenix. Over the past three years, Boulder Ridge residents began to notice increased blasting, crushing, and trucking out of … Read more “SciStarter, researchers, regulators, and community residents collaborate to test air quality sensors”
Categories: Citizen Science, Tools
By Lea Shell, Apr 13, 2018
We’ve got a big weekend coming up for science! Not only is Citizen Science Day on April 14th, it’s also the March for Science and we’re also preparing for the City Nature Challenge! We’ve pulled together a long list of projects you could do in a city, so there’s something for everyone! So, plan your weekend now and find a Citizen … Read more “Citizen Science in the City”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Events, Featured Projects, Insects, National Citizen Science Day, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
By Kaitlin Vortherms, Feb 21, 2017
When smog is so thick that it clouds our vision, we can see and acknowledge that air pollution is a problem. In December of last year, China issued its second ever red alert, their highest rating for air pollution, and last month, London broke modern air pollution records. But on days when the haze has … Read more “Out of Sight, Out Of Mind: Visualizing the Invisible”
Categories: Citizen Science, Health, Project Profile
By Sarah Newman, Jan 05, 2017
Happy New Year! Looking for opportunities to make the world a better place this year? Start with these popular projects, which had the most traffic on SciStarter in 2016. Find more on SciStarter then simply bookmark your favorites to receive seasonal reminders! Cheers! The SciStarter Team
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Ecology & Environment, Featured Projects, Health
By Guest Contributor, Dec 27, 2016
By: Elizabeth Kittrie, Senior Advisor for Data Science, National Institutes of Health In the spirit of open science – a movement to make data and other information from scientific research available to everyone — the National Institutes of Health invites you to cast your vote and help us decide which of the projects competing for … Read more “Help Shape New Directions in Open Science: Vote for your favorite Innovation!”
Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Health, Other
By Eva Lewandowski, Dec 22, 2016
The holiday season is upon us! In the spirit of the season, we’ve put together another edition of our annual 12 Days of Christmas Newsletter. ANNNNNNNND…as our gift to you, we’ve made it possible for you to track your citizen science contributions and interests in one place! Check out the beta version of SciStarter 2.0. … Read more “12 Days of Christmas with Citizen Science (seriously!)”
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Newsletter
By Guest Contributor, Oct 19, 2016
What if you had access to air quality data — minute-by- minute — from hundreds of locations in your community at the same time? How would you manage that data– and how would you share it with your local residents? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering two communities $40,000 each to help figure that out. Currently, environmental … Read more “Enter EPA’s Smart City Air Challenge!”
Categories: Citizen Science, Project Profile
By Arvind Suresh, Nov 06, 2014
Editors Note: This is a guest post by Gwen Ottinger, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Drexel University. She has done extensive research on community-based air monitoring and community-industry relations around oil refineries. She is author of Refining Expertise: How Responsible Engineers Subvert Environmental Justice Challenges (NYU Press … Read more “Groundbreaking Air Quality Study Demonstrates the Power of Citizen Science”
Categories: CitSci Research, Ecology & Environment
By John Ohab, Mar 19, 2011
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
