Author: kristinbutler

Kristin Butler dedicates her Scuba Series in remembrance of her beloved mother, Marilyn Butler, who passed along to Kristin a deep love for science and nature along with a pair of pink scuba diving fins. Each year, the Long Beach Scuba Show brings together divers from around the world for seminars and exhibits on all […]

For more than a hundred years, the United States government has paired university scientists with local farmers to study how best to feed the world. These extension programs helped to more than double agricultural production in the U.S. between 1948 and 2001 by sharing knowledge between farmers and university researchers. These extension programs—which bring knowledge […]

Hitting the trails for the long holiday weekend? Here’s a citizen science project you can contribute if you’re exploring the Appalachian Mountains, which stretch all the way from Georgia to Maine. Happy trails!  ~The SciStarter Editorial Team Hikers in the Appalachian mountains contribute data and help researchers learn how climate change is affecting plants living […]

I read once that if you want to keep a giraffe in captivity you have to capture it when it is young because an adult giraffe will fight to the death to be free. The story was in the book “Zarafa” by Michael Allin, and while I don’t think the statement is scientifically correct, I […]

Citizen scientists across the country are helping scientists better understand the illness and how it is moving through the population by participating in a research project called Flu Near You.

I used to think of birds as delicate creatures, airy and carefree, with pretty feathers and pretty songs. Then I saw the film “Winged Migration” and came to understand just how gritty and daring these lovely creatures really are. The film uses bird’s-eye footage to document the treacherous treks birds across the globe make each […]

Editor’s Note: Today starts the beginning of Bat Week and there are many opportunities for citizen scientists to get involved. Below, we have reposted an article from 2015 on the popular online project Bat Detective. Want to support more bat projects? Check out SciStarter to find a list of fun possibilities. 

Tiffany Poon dives with sharks. In fact, it’s one the biggest highlights of her diving year. “As soon as the first one appears, usually in spring, I’ll be at La Jolla Cove spending as much time as possible with them,” Poon says. “Sometimes they’re shy and keep their distance, but often they’ll come by close […]

How can you protect an astronaut from getting a sunburn in space? The Royal Society of Chemistry in London has designed a collection of hands-on chemistry experiments that kids can do to explore this question and discover the answer for themselves. The project is called Mission: Starlight. It is free and includes downloadable videos, worksheets, and […]

Like many people, I was first introduced to the world of archaeology by Indiana Jones, that adventuresome character who lit up the big screen rescuing artifacts from villains by the skin of his teeth. Indy was awesome and will always have a place in my heart. But while he succeeded in making archaeology seem romantic, […]