Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Michael Gold, Jun 30, 2010
An important new citizen science project turned up in our database the other day—and it urgently needs volunteers. MoGO, short for Mobile Gulf Observatory, is an iPhone app that enlists volunteers to record and report the damage of the Gulf Coast oil spill on the region’s wildlife and environment. It was created by researchers at … Read more “Citizen scientists needed to track oil damage–by phone”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment
By Susan West, May 18, 2010
One of the many jewels in San Francisco’s crown is the Exploratorium, a hands-on museum where creativity and science collide in ever more imaginative ways. And among the imaginative projects the museum has backed recently is artist-programmer-musician Ken Murphy’s film, A History of the Sky. Murphy, an Exploratorium artist in residence, is creating a time-lapse … Read more “Time-lapse film captures a year of sky”
Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology
By John Ohab, May 06, 2010
Recent earthquakes in China, Haiti, Chili, Mexico, and elsewhere have provided a clear reminder of the devastation and loss of human life that can occur when an earthquake strikes in populated areas. Though scientists cannot currently predict earthquakes, there is an amazing wealth of research being conducted around the world to provide a better understanding of … Read more “Earthquake research is shaking up citizen science”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Geology & Earth Sciences
By John Ohab, Apr 23, 2010
One of my favorite books of all time is Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, a tale about the relationship between a boy and a selfless tree that does whatever it can to make the boy happy. Even as an adult, the book still gives me a renewed appreciation for the many ways in which trees … Read more “Give back: Help map every tree in San Francisco”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
By Susan West, Mar 30, 2010
Part art, part science, NYC Resistor is a “hacker collective” that shares information about and builds electronic…stuff. Amazing stuff: an interactive embroidery machine, books that “breathe,” cyber woodpeckers, a painting robot. Not surprisingly, the founders include folks like Bre Pettis, who produces a weekly video podcast called “Weekend Projects” for Make: Magazine; Nick Bilton, the … Read more “Electronic DIY-ers grow in Brooklyn”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Do-It-Yourself
By Michael Gold, Mar 10, 2010
One of the many reasons I love to sneak up to Point Reyes is the night sky. It’s often stunningly clear up there compared to foggy, urban San Francisco, offering a gorgeous celestial show to anyone inclined to look up. But on a recent getaway, I was bummed to find out that I’d forgotten to … Read more “Phone apps for citizen scientists: What are you packing?”
Categories: Animals, Apps, Astronomy & Space, Biology, Birds, Computers & Technology
By John Ohab, Mar 03, 2010
Tired of winter? Are snowball fights, sledding, and snowmen just not cutting it anymore? I just might have the cure for those winter blues: SnowTweets, a new citizen science project that uses the popular micro-blogging service, Twitter, to gather snow depth measurements from all over the world. Measuring snow is actually as easy as sticking … Read more “Turn a snow day into a science experiment”
Categories: Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology
By Michael Gold, Feb 24, 2010
British astronomers have shed new light on an intriguing quirk in the anatomy of certain galaxies: a structure that looks like a bar running through a galaxy’s center. But how the researchers formulated their findings is just as interesting as the findings themselves. Their report is based on an analysis of a mountain of astronomical … Read more “Citizen scientists power cosmic research”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Other
By Michael Gold, Jan 11, 2010
Did you know that you can often see the International Space Station in the night sky? I’ve known that for a while, but I never think to look up at the right time. Here’s a cool solution I just came across: space station alerts via Twitter. Twisst will tweet you an advance summary of good … Read more “Twitter alert: Here comes the space station!”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Computers & Technology
