Data literacy is someone’s ability to understand and interpret data. In today’s world, we encounter data everywhere. Our smartphones, cars and TVs collect and gather data from us when we use them, and we collect and gather data every time we make a decision. We base our decisions on the data we can interpret: choosing […]

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 […]

Fungi serve an invaluable role in our ecosystem. They provide humans and a huge variety of insects and animals with top notch nutrition, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They are the decomposers of our ecosystem and they provide us with medicine. They raise our bread, turn grain into beer, grapes into wine […]

SciStarter LIVE is an informal web series, where we go LIVE and work through a citizen science project. You’ll have opportunities to hear from project leaders, get your questions answered, hang out with the SciStarter team and more. Just join us on Zoom or watch the live stream on SciStarter’s Facebook page. All events are recorded […]

While we might imagine a scientist as a chemist concocting substances in a lab, or a biologist diving with sea creatures, the reality is often far more mundane. Much of science involves collecting and analyzing data, and that process isn’t always very exciting. Think counting bacteria in a petri dish, or noting if two stars […]

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 […]

Our oceans are vast, powerful and mysterious — and even after centuries of study, there are still many things scientists don’t know about our planet’s blue expanses. But the ocean affects all of our lives intimately, even those of us who live far from the coast. Oceans provide food for billions of people, shape weather […]

Do you know the fictional Japanese monster Godzilla? We present to you its miniature version — the very real marine iguana. Marine iguanas are a quirky, charismatic species of reptile living in the tropical paradise of the Galápagos Islands. People often refer to them as mini-Godzillas or marine dragons, but they are definitely not monstrous. […]

Sharks get a lot more attention than, say, sea cucumbers, possibly because sharks tend to have much bigger teeth. They even get their own week! (note to Discovery Channel: please find room for Sea Cucumber Week). And yet, as marine scientist and shark expert David Shiffman points out, scientists are still discovering new things about […]