Is our thirst for energy killing the ecology of the Grand Canyon?

A new citizen science project invites volunteers to help study insect diversity in the Grand Canyon. Every night when she’s on the water, Gibney Siemion, a river expedition guide in the Grand Canyon, crouches at the edge of the Colorado River right on the line where the sand turns from wet to dry. Her equipment … Read more “Is our thirst for energy killing the ecology of the Grand Canyon?”

Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Science Policy

Coop’s Citizen Sci Scoop: Patients Who Were Research Subjects and the Doctors Who Listened – the Citizen Science of HIV/AIDS Research

Editor’s Note: Flight MH17 was a horrible tragedy, with many lives lost, including HIV/AIDS researchers en route to a conference.   In Caren Cooper’s latest Coop’s Citizen Sci Scoop, she explains how citizen science assisted with AIDS research, and how AIDS activists were able to become participatory members of the medical and scientific process.  Here, in full, … Read more “Coop’s Citizen Sci Scoop: Patients Who Were Research Subjects and the Doctors Who Listened – the Citizen Science of HIV/AIDS Research”

Categories: Citizen Science, Health

Bats, Bones, Zombees! Five macabre citizen science projects for Halloween.

Drag your bones on over to our favorite, spooky research projects just in time for Halloween. Where is my Spider? Share your photos of spiders. When we understand where spiders are living today, we will be better able to predict what may happen to spiders and agriculture in the future. Get started!   Zombee Watch … Read more “Bats, Bones, Zombees! Five macabre citizen science projects for Halloween.”

Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors

Fun and Games Until Someone Maps an Eye (Neuron): Citizen Science Games

Tired of watching the kids race home from school just to play video games for hours? One-up them and make a significant contribution to science while YOU play games. (Warning: The kids might like these, too!) EyeWire EyeWire is a citizen science project aimed at mapping the neural connections of the retina. All you have … Read more “Fun and Games Until Someone Maps an Eye (Neuron): Citizen Science Games”

Categories: Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Gaming, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter, Science Education Standards

Citizen Science Does Grow on Trees!

Trees provide us with oxygen, shade, and that calming rustle on an evening hike. Now, they’re also providing the opportunity to do some citizen science! Here is our round-up of tree-related citizen science projects that you can go out on a limb to participate in! Treezilla Treezilla is a mapping project based in Great Britain … Read more “Citizen Science Does Grow on Trees!”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors

We’re Taking Citizen Science Back to School!

SciStarter goes back to school! Our Project Finder is full of citizen science projects perfect for the classroom. Many include additional teaching materials.  We highlight 10 here that can be used in the classroom, as homework assignments, or as after school family activities across a variety of subjects and age groups.   Project Budburst Participating in Project BudBurst, … Read more “We’re Taking Citizen Science Back to School!”

Categories: Citizen Science

Shark Week: A Feeding Frenzy for Citizen Scientists

That’s right–it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. It’s Shark Week, and SciStarter has a slew of projects for you to try out. Let’s see if you bite. Whether it’s fascination or fear, the sight of a shark makes our hearts skip a beat. Thanks to these featured citizen science projects, that sight can also … Read more “Shark Week: A Feeding Frenzy for Citizen Scientists”

Categories: Animals, Apps, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water

Sevengill shark

More Gills or Eyes? The Purported Increase of Sevengill Shark Populations off the Coast of San Diego

Emerging technologies have a profound effect on how citizen scientists conduct their work. An underwater creature of ancient lineage helps to tell this modern story of technology’s importance to citizen science. Notorynchus cepedianus, the sevengill shark, of the ancient Hexanchidae family (cow sharks), features seven gill slits and a single dorsal fin, giving a prehistoric … Read more “More Gills or Eyes? The Purported Increase of Sevengill Shark Populations off the Coast of San Diego”

Categories: Animals, Apps, Citizen Science, In the News, Ocean & Water

Citizen Science and Art: Exploring biohackers and bioartists

Back in January I met Glendon Mellow at Science Online. Since then I’ve been following his impressive work at the intersection of art and science and thinking a lot about where the relationship between the two might be found in citizen science. Scientific American’s Symbiartic blog has featured numerous articles about the intersection of science … Read more “Citizen Science and Art: Exploring biohackers and bioartists”

Categories: Citizen Science