Author: bobhirshon

How can you just sit there, reading this blog post and sipping on your coffee/tea/kombucha/pinot noir/Liquid Death when NASA needs your help with 36 different research projects? And not just pretend missions, designed to get you excited about space or teach you something. These are actual research missions to search for extraterrestrial life inhabiting distant […]

Have you ever considered exploring strange new worlds? Maybe seeking out new life and new civilizations? And then abandoned the idea because you’re too young or too old to seriously consider going boldly where no one has gone before? Well, these are completely achievable goals and they don’t require working your way through Star Fleet […]

Each spring, billions of amphibians, just like millions of college students, decide that it would be a good time for frenetic, uninhibited and potentially dangerous sexual escapades. They emerge from their forest burrows/dorms and, in an effort to overwhelm potential predators and/or parents/local law enforcement, they travel en masse to predetermined locations and go wild. […]

For Valentine’s Day, we’re delving into the romance of citizen science which, at first glance, might not appear to require much delving. But at second glance, you’ll realize that citizen science is possibly the most romantic endeavor imaginable! Then at third glance, you might say, “nah, what was I thinking?” But then– stay with me […]

Whenever you’re out frolicking in a winter wonderland, why not take a frolicking break every now and then to measure snow depth for your friends at the Community Snow Observations project? Your observations will help them verify data obtained from satellites and other remote sensing tools, and also fill in both spatial and temporal gaps […]

Looking for a special gift for the citizen science lover in your life? You’ve come to the right place! In this podcast, we share expert picks for over a dozen unique gifts your friends and family will enjoy while they help scientists conduct important research. Listen: https://citscipod.podbean.com/e/scistarter-holiday-gift-guide-live/ Projects and websites featured in this episode include: […]

Listen to the podcast: https://citscipod.podbean.com/e/the-great-north-american-fungiquest/ Thousands of mycophiles took to the forest in October to document as many mushrooms as they could, as part of the first annual Great North American FungiQuest. In this podcast, we spoke with Robert Courteau, project creator and also founder of the non-profit group Think Fungi. Projects and other links […]

With forests being wiped out worldwide by climate change, deforestation, pests and plagues, trees need all the help they can get. In this episode of the SciStarter podcast, we learn about three citizen science projects that monitor and protect trees. Also, with gift-giving season right around the corner, Bob also shares a few of his […]

In this month’s SciStarter podcast, we’re heading back to school to see how teachers and even college professors are making citizen science a part of their classroom instruction. Participating in real science conducted by actual researchers can make science lessons come alive for students at all grade levels. Education leaders in Florida, North Carolina and […]

In the latest episode of the SciStarter podcast, we celebrate National Dog Day (August 26th) with some canine citizen science. Scientists would like to learn about dog personalities and genetics; what traits help them perform well as service animals; and how environmental factors could affect their health. If you have a canine companion, you have […]