Top 20 Citizen Science Projects of 2020

This post was originally published as a SciStarter newsletter. Sign up to receive bi-weekly citizen science in your inbox! Thank you, SciStarter citizen scientists! Thanks to nearly 100,000 registered SciStarter users and many other visitors in 2020 alone, we collectively helped scientists accelerate research about COVID-19, monitor light pollution and climate change, catalogue biodiversity all around … Read more “Top 20 Citizen Science Projects of 2020”

Categories: Citizen Science News, Events, Featured Projects, Newsletter, NNLM

Lend Citizen Science Project Scientists a Hand. Then, Discuss the Results!

As part of continued programming with the Network of the National Library of Medicine and the All of Us Research Program, SciStarter hosted an event series in January, February and March to help you get started in one of three citizen science projects that advance real world research. Image Credit: Human Computation Institute How It … Read more “Lend Citizen Science Project Scientists a Hand. Then, Discuss the Results!”

Categories: Events, Library, NNLM

How a Christmas Tradition has Helped Track Billions of Vanishing Birds

Every year around Christmas time, tens of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers gather in familiar locations across the Western Hemisphere for a tradition that dates back more than a century. On select days between December 14 and January 5, volunteers with the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count take a census of every bird they see … Read more “How a Christmas Tradition has Helped Track Billions of Vanishing Birds”

Categories: Animals, Other

The Library & Community Guide to Citizen Science

Hot off the (virtual) press…the Library & Community Guide to Citizen Science! Libraries are quickly becoming hubs for citizen science. Your library may already be involved in citizen science programming. If so, bravo! For countless others, citizen science is still a bit of a mystery. We created this guide to help you navigate the rapidly … Read more “The Library & Community Guide to Citizen Science”

Categories: Citizen Science Month, Library

SciStarter’s Holiday Film Guide

This post was originally published as a SciStarter newsletter. Sign up to receive bi-weekly citizen science in your inbox! ‘Tis the season for citizen science! Like a warm cup of cocoa, these family favorite films evoke the spirit of giving, especially when paired with citizen science activities. Whether you’re outside dashing through the snow or at … Read more “SciStarter’s Holiday Film Guide”

Categories: Newsletter

How Playing Science Games is Advancing Genetic Research

In today’s world, computers both big and small produce vast volumes of data in record time — millions of trillions of bytes worth. It’s so much information that researchers can’t properly analyze all the data produced, and the overload can also lead computers to make mistakes. That’s why researchers are increasingly turning to citizen scientists … Read more “How Playing Science Games is Advancing Genetic Research”

Categories: Gaming, Other

How One Person in Pakistan Made a Difference for Air Quality

Air quality impacts our health, our quality of life and even the length of our lives. Most people don’t think about what’s in the air they breathe — but perhaps they should. That’s the driving force behind the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative. The citizen science project wants to let people know what’s in their air. … Read more “How One Person in Pakistan Made a Difference for Air Quality”

Categories: Ecology & Environment, Other

Citizen Science Gift Guide

Treat yourself (or someone else you love) to these awesome citizen science instruments. Do you, your friends or family members engage in gardening, birdwatching, stargazing or other science hobbies? If so, then our annual SciStarter Gift Guide is just what you need to find the ideal gift to take things to the next level of discovery! … Read more

Categories: Newsletter

Watching plants with Project Budburst

Guest Post by Sarah Jones Learn more about Budburst on SciStarter. Link to https://scistarter.org/budburst Join Communities Across the World in Observing Plant Life Cycles – Any Plant, Any Place, Any Time! I haven’t always loved plants. I loved the animals that took shelter in branches, eating leaves and fruits. I loved the lake surrounded by trees … Read more “Watching plants with Project Budburst”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

National Academy of Sciences Report is a Guide to Making Citizen Science Work For Everyone

In 2018, the Committee on Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning gathered at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to draft the 184-page report, Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design. (Darlene Cavalier, founder of SciStarter.org, was part of that committee.) The goal of the report “[was] to say something new … Read more “National Academy of Sciences Report is a Guide to Making Citizen Science Work For Everyone”

Categories: Citizen Science