Category: Citizen Science

This is a guest post by Dr. Tom Keeble, who was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and completed a science degree with honours at The University of Melbourne. He then completed a Ph.D, studying Developmental Neurobiology, at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, and the Queensland Brain Institute. He did a postdoc […]

Baby, it’s cold outside! To mark the first day of winter on December 21st, the SciStarter team put together this list of wintery Citizen Science projects. We bet you’ll feel warm and fuzzy inside when you participate. Counting Weddell Seals in Antarctica Even if your local winter weather does not include ice and snow, you […]

The monarch butterfly is a remarkable species.  Each year these insects migrate in a similar pattern to birds from colder to warmer climates as the seasons change, often returning to the same overwintering sites every year.  Unlike birds, however, no single monarch lives long enough to make the whole migration, so the journey occurs across […]

Dig into this fabulous Thanksgiving menu of citizen science projects you can do between dinner and dessert! “It’s turkey-time!” Those words mean different things to different people—birdwatchers look forward to sighting hens with poults in the spring, hunters raise their glasses when turkey season opens, researchers foresee the final compilation of a summer citizen science count, […]

When you consider the field of citizen science you probably think of it as something you do by collecting data, taking pictures, finding plants or animals, or uploading sightings. There’s a new form of citizen science emerging called a “thought experiment.” You may be familiar with thought experiments like that of “Schrödinger’s Cat” or Einstein’s […]

Dig into even more Thanksgiving projects with your friends and family! Imagine: After months of treacherous sailing across the open ocean, skirting coral reefs and rocky shores, you alight upon lush tropical islands greeted by enticing aromas, unknown species, and a symphony of bird song… Four years into her circumnavigation of the globe, the HMS […]

The hills are alive with citizen science. More musical projects for your ears and brain. This morning, I woke up after a good night’s rest, ready to take on the world. I was still lying in bed, thinking about how great it would be if I could just lace up and go out for a […]

This is a guest post from Bob Perciasepe. Appointed by President Obama in 2009 as the U.S. EPA’s Deputy Administrator, Bob Perciasepe continues a career spanning nearly four decades as one of the nation’s leading environmental and public policy figures. An expert on environmental stewardship, advocacy, public policy, and national resource and organizational management, Perciasepe […]

We’ve updated and reposted this Thanksgiving Day treat,  from Lily Bui! Dig into this serving of Thanksgiving projects with your friends and family! Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count Help researchers take census of winter Monarch butterflies. Count Monarchs in colonies, during the mornings around Thanksgiving. Get started!   Thanksgiving Day Western Bird Count Help monitor winter bird […]

Science endeavors to be a collaborative and open process. Unfortunately, it can be challenging for independent citizen scientists to share their data or publish their research findings. “Despite the quality of their work, competent amateurs and citizen scientists are not well-represented in the research literature,” explains Dr. Sheldon Greaves co-founder and Executive Director of the […]