Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Citizen Science!

AlastairG / Creative Commons
AlastairG / Creative Commons

Our editors have selected some sizzling citizen science projects in celebration of Summer Solstice on June 21. Several are also appropriate for kids of all ages (keep those minds sharp over the summer break!).

And…our friends at Mental Floss featured“15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Summer Solstice,” including this fact:

“The Earth is at its furthest from the sun during the Summer Solstice.The warmth ofsummer comes exclusively from the tilt of the Earth’s axis, and not from how close it is to the sun at any given time.”

Check out the SciStarter blog for updates on your favorite projects and find new projects in our Project Finder!

nova nasa
NASA
The NOVA Sun Lab
Help scientists predict solar storms with NASA’s data, images and tools. Or create your own research project using these tools and NOVA’s supplemental videos.

fireflywatch mos
Museum of Science

Firefly Watch

Count and track male/female fireflies in your back yard for 15 minutes a night and contribute to research on the geographic distribution of these favorite summertime insects.


dark sky meter
DDQ

Dark Sky Meter

As soon as the sun sets, the summer night sky offers an incredibly different, sublime experience. The Dark Sky Meter (available for iPhones) allows citizen scientists to contribute to a global map of nighttime light pollution.

Jellywatch MBARI
Jellywatch MBARI

Jelly Watch

Have you seen a jellyfish on the beach yet? Report it to Jellywatch – a public database documenting ocean conditions. These researchers are especially interested in jellyfish washing up, but they also track red tides, squid and mammal strandings, and other indicators of ocean health.


myObservatory, a citizen science platform,  is offering project owners $2,000 in free data services! Find out more.

Contact the SciStarter Team

Email: info@scistarter.com
Website: http://scistarter.com

Categories: Citizen Science

About the Author

Arvind Suresh

Arvind Suresh

Arvind Suresh is science communicator and a former laboratory biologist, he has a Master’s degree in Cell Biology and Molecular Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. He enjoys reading, teaching, talking and writing science. Connect with him on Twitter @suresh_arvind.