Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
If you like Phoebe Allens, the famous Allen’s hummingbird whose comings and goings are video-recorded in a southern California yard, then you should know about The Animal Detector. The Animal Detector is a video blog devoted to the nocturnal critters that visit the backyard of University of North Carolina developmental biologist Bob Goldstein. One night … Read more “A webcam for things that go bump in the night”
On the list of reasons to watch The Rachel Maddow Show, one wouldn’t ordinarily expect to find “lessons in ornithology” near the top. Well, after Monday night’s show, that’s exactly what viewers got! In the video clip below, Maddow explains how she was recently walking her dog in a western Massachusetts forest when she heard … Read more “Is Rachel Maddow a citizen scientist?”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Computers & Technology, In the News, Nature & Outdoors
Not that we’re competing, but stargazers Anthony Wesley and Christopher Go have now spotted one more giant fireball on Jupiter than me, according to several news reports. Wesley apparently caught the impact event on camera from Australia, and Go simultaneously captured video of the resulting blast of light from the Philipines. Pretty amazing stuff. If … Read more “Amateur Astronomers Discover Massive Fireball on Jupiter”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, In the News
One of the many jewels in San Francisco’s crown is the Exploratorium, a hands-on museum where creativity and science collide in ever more imaginative ways. And among the imaginative projects the museum has backed recently is artist-programmer-musician Ken Murphy’s film, A History of the Sky. Murphy, an Exploratorium artist in residence, is creating a time-lapse … Read more “Time-lapse film captures a year of sky”
Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology
Around noon today, a Florida wildlife rescue worker loosened his grip on a red-shouldered hawk that had been recuperating from a serious head injury over the past two months. As the surrounding crowd cheered, the bird took flight and soared through the skies over Biscayne National Park (see the video, below). This was the official … Read more “Florida BioBlitz takes off–Friday and Saturday!”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
If you ever needed convincing that math is beautiful, this movie by Spanish graphic animator Cristóbal Vila will do the trick. Set to a haunting piece by Belgian minimalist composer Wim Mertens, “Nature by Numbers” brings to life some of the fundamental math concepts that connect art and nature. Vila starts his exploration with the … Read more “Mesmerizing math movie”
Categories: Uncategorized
To fans of hummingbirds and “nature cams,” Phoebe Allens needs no introduction. She’s an intrepid little momma bird whose adventures in nurturing her young have been well documented by a Web cam pointed at her nest in a rose bush in Orange County, California. Now that spring is nearly here, it’s time for another exciting … Read more “The hummingbird versus Godzilla–on video!”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors
New to bird watching? Professor Stuart Pimm talks us through the basics in this video. Many bird watchers share their observations with researchers in an effort to learn about and protect these little critters that are so important to our ecology. If you’re interested in getting involved in bird watching to help science, you’ll find … Read more “An introduction to bird watching.”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science
