Citizen Science Month began in 2019 as Citizen Science Day and expanded into a month-long initiative in 2020. Over time, the initiative has grown in geographic reach, strengthened partner engagement, and added training and resources to support both participants and facilitators.

Giles, E. Et al. Citizen Science Month Across the Years: Lessons Learned & Impacts Measured. CAPS 2025.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS

Since expanding to a full month, the program has evolved through continuous improvement and evaluation—including foundational training for citizen scientists and facilitators, global collaboration, and expanded community hubs (including libraries) that support participation worldwide. Learn more about what we achieved together during Citizen Science Month 2025 on the SciStarter Blog.

Founding Partners

SciStarter.org
SciStarter is a global citizen science hub that connects millions of people to thousands of opportunities to participate in real scientific research. We help people turn curiosity into Acts of Science through a powerful project and event finder, personalized dashboards, and tools that make participation easy across projects, websites, and apps. Led by the SciStarter Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and supported by a mission-aligned LLC for client services, SciStarter uses evidence-based approaches that are field-tested and scaled to support participants, scientists, and facilitators while coordinating major initiatives such as Citizen Science Month and Do NASA Science LIVE. Visit SciStarter.org to start your first Act of Science!

Arizona State University
The School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) is a transdisciplinary unit at the vanguard of ASU’s commitment to linking innovation to public value. SFIS pursues a vision of responsible innovation that anticipates challenges and opportunities, integrates diverse knowledge and perspectives, and engages broad audiences. By examining the ways we translate imagination into innovation — and how we blend technical and social concerns along the way — SFIS aims to build a future for everyone. ASU’s University Office of Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness (UOEEE) & College Research and Evaluation Services Team (CREST) has supplied research and evaluation support across the years.

Association for the Advancement of Participatory Sciences
The Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences (AAPS) is a member-driven organization that connects people from a wide range of experiences around one shared purpose: advancing knowledge through research and monitoring done by, for, and with members of the public. The association was a founding partner supporting the growth and coordination of the participatory sciences field.

Financial and Partnership Support
Thanks to support over the years from the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, SciStarter and Arizona State University have scaled the program globally, supported a network of more than 1,000 public libraries, and increased the public’s awareness of and engagement in scientific research.