What is SciStarter?

 

SciStarter’s Project Finder

SciStarter is the place to find, join, and contribute to science through more than 3,000 formal and informal research projects, events and tools. Our database of citizen science projects enables discovery, organization, and greater participation in science. This is also the place to track your contributions, bookmark things you like, and access the tools and instruments needed to get started. Learn more about citizen science and check out these Ten Principles of Citizen Science.

SciStarter grew out of Master’s project Darlene Cavalier was working on at the University of Pennsylvania. SciStarter was soon organized as an LLC and in 2014 SciStarter was adopted in part by Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society. With support from the National Science Foundation, Arizona State University’s Center for Engagement and Training in Science and Society and SciStarter created SciStarter 2.0:

  • An identity management system and open integrated registration for participants to more easily engage in multiple citizen science projects, even across platforms and disciplines;
  • GIS implementation so would-be participants can find opportunities near them;
  • Ability for participants to track their projects, contributions, and volunteer hours to science;
  • Participants can create privacy-protected profiles and find people and projects of interest to them.

If you are a scientist or a representative of a citizen science organization or community: SciStarter is the organization and community to  tell eager people about your work and get them interested in helping out.  Make sure your project is listed and up to date so we can help you. Thanks to support from the Simons Foundation, we share the database with anyone interested through global partnerships, media partnerships and open APIs with PBS Kids, Discover Magazine, Serve.gov and others.