Covering the people, projects and phenomena of citizen science
Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
Celebrate Halloween with SciStarter
By Eva Lewandowski, Oct 27, 2016
Are you looking for something to make you shudder this Halloween? You can skip the scary movies and the frightening costumes. We’ve got projects that are creepy, slimy, scary, and above all else fun! Below, we’ve highlighted five spooky projects to help you celebrate Halloween.
Have you ever held an earthworm? It will give you a thrill! If you’re in England, collect earthworms and examine the soil around them to determine the beneficial impacts the native species have on soil health.
There are dozens of species of bats in Africa, but don’t be scared; they eat fruit and insects, not blood! If you see a bat anywhere on the continent, snap a photo and submit it to afriBats. If you can’t identify it, bat experts will help you.
If seeing a bat in person is too scary for you, this projects offers the opportunity to view these incredible animals online. You can watch video clips of bats and help researchers label their behaviors.
You may think spiders are creepy and crawly, but they’re also an important part of many ecosystems and sadly understudied. Help scientists in Colorado study these amazing creatures by sending in samples of the spiders in your part of the state.
Seeing roadkill is gross, but reporting it can tell us a great deal about what wildlife species are most at risk from traffic. If you live in California, report your roadkill sightings online.
What’s worse than seeing roadkill from your car? Getting an up-close view from your bicycle. But you can turn this icky encounter into a win for science! Report roadkill sightings from anywhere in the world to this project, and help reduce these unfortunate deaths.
The Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park in Maine is hosting Eek of Ecologyon October 29, a family-friendly event exploring the creatures of the national parks.
Make observations on nighttime constellations now through October 31 with Globe at Night.
Want more citizen science? Check out SciStarter’s Project Finder! With 1100+ citizen science projects spanning every field of research, task and age group, there’s something for everyone!
Eva Lewandowski is the Citizen-based Monitoring Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where she coordinates a statewide citizen science network. She has a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota and is an active volunteer.
