Year: 2010

Calling all citizen scientists in the Gulf Coast! Help survey birds in the beaches and marshes most likely to be impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Cornell University’s Team eBird has produced the eBird Gulf Coast Oil Spill Bird Tracker gadget that can be embedded in your iGoogle page for quick access to the […]

Recent earthquakes in China, Haiti, Chili, Mexico, and elsewhere have provided a clear reminder of the devastation and loss of human life that can occur when an earthquake strikes in populated areas. Though scientists cannot currently predict earthquakes, there is an amazing wealth of research being conducted around the world to provide a better understanding of […]

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 […]

The major rivers and estuaries along the northeastern coast of the U.S. are preparing for peak spawning season of herring, eels, shad, and other fish. Aquatic dwellers in the Hudson River, situated between NY and NJ, are fortunate to have the Hudson River Estuary Program and Scenic Hudson organizations looking out for them. Now through […]

One of my favorite books of all time is Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, a tale about the relationship between a boy and a selfless tree that does whatever it can to make the boy happy. Even as an adult, the book still gives me a renewed appreciation for the many ways in which trees […]

Do girls prefer pink because they can see farther into the red end of the visible light spectrum? Could playing music to bees increase their honey output? What’s the homing range of snails–in other words, how far away do you have to move them to keep them from returning to your garden? These are just […]

Doesn’t spring make you antsy to go outside, get moving, and act all scientific? (Or maybe those are real ants you’re feeling—this season does bring out all sorts of little critters.) If you’re craving more, even after our earlier list of suggestions, here are another five projects to help you scratch that springtime citizen science […]

To get us all in the mood to celebrate the start of Firefly season, check out Owl City’s Fireflies music video. The Museum of Science, Boston, kicks off each year of its Firefly Watch citizen science project with a day-long celebration in honor of everyone’s favorite insect and the volunteers who help monitor their populace […]

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 […]

Here’s a great way to mix science and adventure on your next Hawaiin vacation. The Coral Reef Alliance has developed a web portal that integrates citizen science and reef monitoring to protect the ecological health of Hawaii’s reefs. The new website is intended to provide a one-stop shop for volunteers to enter data that corresponds to a […]