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10 back-to-school projects for young citizen scientists
By John Ohab September 13th, 2011 at 12:09 pm | Comment 1
World Water Monitoring Day is one of many citizen science projects for primary and secondary school students.
As summer comes to a close, a young person’s fancy may turn to fretting at the thought of being cooped up in a classroom. But for fans of science and nature—and by that we mean kids who like to watch clouds, hunt mushrooms, prowl around graveyards, and check out what gets squashed on the side of the road—fall need not signal the end of fun.
To keep young minds entertained as well as enlightened, we recommend the following 10 back-to-school projects for student citizen scientists. Teachers and parents, please note: Many of these programs provide materials around which you can build lessons. And there are lots more where these came from. Visit our Project Finder for a full list of citizen science projects for primary and secondary school students.
World Water Monitoring Day: World Water Monitoring Day is an international program that encourages citizen volunteers to monitor their local water bodies. An easy-to-use test kit enables everyone from children to adults to sample local water bodies for basic water quality parameters: temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity), and dissolved oxygen. Though World Water Monitoring Day is officially celebrated on September 18, the monitoring window is extended to cover the period from March 22 (World Water Day) until December 31. Check out what one of our members said about the project.
School of Ants: Join North Carolina State University researchers in a citizen-scientist driven study of the ants that live in urban areas, particularly around homes and schools. Collection kits are available to anyone interested in participating. Teachers, students, parents, kids, junior-scientists, senior citizens and enthusiasts of all stripes are involved in collecting ants in schoolyards and backyards using a standardized protocol so that project coordinators can make detailed maps of the wildlife that lives just outside their doorsteps.
The Albedo Project: Wherever you are – anywhere in the world – on September 23th, contribute to science by taking a photo of a blank white piece of paper, outside in the sun, between 4:00 and 7:00 pm local time. Your photo will used to to help students measure how much of the sun’s energy is reflected back from the Earth — our planet’s “albedo.” It’s one way scientists can monitor how much energy – and heat – is being absorbed by our planet.
Students’ Cloud Observations On-Line (S’COOL): Report your observations of clouds—their shapes, height, coverage, and related conditions—so that NASA scientists can compare them with data from weather satellites passing over your area. Tutorials and observing guides are available for students. For teachers, the program provides lesson plans, charts, and advice on related educational standards.
Physics Songs: Physics Songs aims to be the world’s premier website devoted to collecting and organizing all songs about physics. It is managed by Walter F. Smith, Professor of Physics at Haverford College. Songs about physics can help students to remember critical concepts and formulas, but perhaps more importantly they communicate the lesson that physics can be fun.
Citizen Science Opportunities with The American Chestnut Foundation
By John Ohab September 1st, 2011 at 10:32 pm | Comment
Jay Hoar describes various chestnut artifacts to visitors of PA Outdoor Heritage Days in Somerset, PA. (Photo: Karen Danes)
Sara Fitzsimmons is the Regional Science Coordinator at The American Chestnut Foundation
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to restoring the American chestnut (Castanea dentate) to its original range. Once estimated to be 25% of the Appalachian forests, the species was all but eliminated from the landscape by an imported fungal disease caused by Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight fungus.
Since 1983, TACF has been working with volunteers and citizen scientists to breed disease-resistant trees and return them to the landscape. The program involves a minimum of six breeding generations, each of which requires labor-intensive controlled pollination to make the seed, and about 5-10 years to grow the trees and properly select them. To work through the entire breeding pipeline, then, takes a large amount of resources, and about 35 – 60 years!
A program such as this would not be possible without the many hands, minds, and legs of citizen scientists. TACF volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds – from salesmen to engineers, farmers to doctors and teachers – all of whom can bring a unique perspective to the program and enhance TACF’s work in a multitude of ways.
Over the past 25+ years, 1000s of volunteers have bred various generations of trees and grown tens of thousands of trees on their land. While breeding is the backbone of TACFs work, and there is continued need for more growers, citizen scientists have not only participated in, but also initiated, some unique programs.
Schools.com: Don’t just sit there–do some science!
By John Ohab August 19th, 2011 at 1:03 pm | Comment
Amy Mayer at Schools.com wrote a nice story about citizen science, featuring a few insights from Science for Citizens contributors Drs. Lisa Gardiner and John Ohab.
Here’s a quick excerpt:
Aspiring research scientists, environmentalists, mobile technology aficionados and video game buffs all can contribute to myriad citizen science projects, along the way joining a global community of regular people contributing to research science. It’s usually fun, often free and typically takes only the amount of time you want to give it.
Although the term “citizen science” is relatively new and increasingly common, the concept is longstanding. In the 19th century, for example, amateur naturalists aided experienced ornithologists by keeping track of the various species of birds they encountered. Today, modern technology and creativity have expanded tremendously the types of projects the public can participate in. All have in common the fact that volunteer public efforts really contribute to ongoing scientific research.
Getting involved is easy
John Ohab with the Science for Citizens website says his database has over 400 projects that have a way for people to sign up and contribute their own data. Some of the more readily accessible projects simply ask you to make an observation (such as when buds appear on trees, what birds are at your feeder, or the snow depth wherever you are) and send in your data points. In most cases you submit your data via a website or Twitterfeed. SnowTweets, for instance, lets participants dash off their measurements from their phones via Twitter. Cyrosphere researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada collate the snowfall data and use it to check data from satellite observations.
Projects appeal to different people depending on their specific interests. Ohab says those that, like SnowTweet, harness the power of smartphone technology, often appeal to high school and college students.
Expanding the scientific community
One collaboration among a dozen science centers around the country is developing a smartphone app for the public to help gather data on the Urban Heat Island Effect. C3: Communicating Climate Change is a project that hopes to develop a robust database of the temperatures along the urban-rural gradient–in other words, amassing large datasets so that meaningful interpretations can be made. According to the Maryland Science Center’s website, the difference between the temperature of a metropolitan area and the rural areas that surround it, or the Urban Heat Island, “is not an effect of climate change, but rather of human activity shaping our environment. One may ask, if we can make changes on a local scale, are we also responsible for changes globally?” Citizen scientists will provide the raw data that researchers use to explore this and other questions.
Read the full story at Schools.com.
What’s in your water heater? NASA wants to know!
By John Ohab August 12th, 2011 at 7:39 pm | Comment
Hot spring at Yellowstone National Park. (Courtesy photo)
Researchers at Penn State University need your help to study the distribution of microorganisms in household hot water heaters. Turns out your everyday hot water heater can double as a model hot spring, one of Earth’s extreme environments where important clues about microbial life in the Solar System might be found.
First, researchers want to better understand the genetic differences of similar microbes from across the globe: Which populations of microbes are isolated and what can this tell us?
Penn State’s Astrobiology Research Center (which is part of the NASA Astrobiology Institute) is running this citizen science project, titled, “Pilot Citizen Science Study of Distributed Domestic Water Heater Microbiology Diversity” and here’s how it works:
Participants take a water sample from their kitchen tap and answer 20 questions to help determine which-and how many–microorganisms are present. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. Researchers will then combine your answers (data) with contributions from households across the country. The goal is to generate a first image of the biogeographic distribution of microorganisms across the United States.
I had a chance to chat with Dr. Chris House, Associate Professor of Geosciences & Director of the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center. He gave me the inside scoop on microbes, why they’re important, and how the study will help NASA understand extreme environments around the Solar System.
Off we go!
First, what are microbes doing in water heaters? Is that bad?
Chris: The main microbial group known from water heaters is Thermus. This thermophilc species is also known from hot springs around the world and was first isolated from Yellowstone National Park. It lives by using oxygen to consume organic material from the water. It is not harmful in any way. Read the rest of this entry »
“Changing Planet” Town Hall: clean energy, green jobs
By John Ohab July 20th, 2011 at 2:08 pm | Comment
On Tuesday, July 26 at 9pm ET, The Weather Channel will air the “Changing Planet” Town Hall focused on clean energy and green jobs. Science for Citizens is a partner in this three-part series.
Here’s more information from NBC News:
This town hall broadcast is the second in a 3-part series that brings together scientists, thought leaders and students for a discussion on the issues of climate science.
The Weather Channel announced that it will air a “Changing Planet: Clean Energy, Green Jobs, and Global Competition” on Tuesday, July 26th at 9 PM/ET. NBC News Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson moderated the event, which was hosted by George Washington University. The town hall meeting is the second in a three-part series produced under a partnership between NBC Learn (the educational arm of NBC News), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Discover magazine.
The “Changing Planet” town hall series is intended to encourage student learning and to open a dialogue about climate change by gathering scientists, thought leaders, business people, and university students to discuss the facts of climate science, understand their implications, brainstorm solutions and even get involved in real research through citizen science projects on ScienceForCitizens.net.
“Today’s technology allows us to think about new energy options that impact the planet less and help the economy more,” said Thompson. “It is critical that we have these important discussions about how clean energy and the economy can go hand in hand, in order to bring the best solutions to the spotlight.”
This edition of “Changing Planet” brings together over 100 students and features four leading experts from the science and business communities: Chris Busch, Director of Policy and Program at Apollo Alliance; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Chief Executive Officer of Green For All; Timothy Juliani, Director of Corporate Engagement at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change; and Ken Zweibel, Director at the GW Solar Institute.
Citizen Science in Puerto Rico
By John Ohab July 12th, 2011 at 3:48 pm | Comment
Citizen science is taking off in Puerto Rico!
According to a story at Ciencia PR, citizen scientists are playing an important role in the conservation efforts for the Hacienca La Esperanza Reserve, which houses the only coastal forest in Northern Puerto Rico. Through the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust’s Citizen Science Program, volunteers have the opportunity to explore and observe the forest life, and learn about the geography of the area.
The full article also has a nice shout-out to Science for Citizens!
Here’s a quick excerpt from the English version:
Scientific questions arise from curiosity, an innate quality of all humans. You may think that only scientists can find the answers to scientific questions. Then you should know that with citizen science we can all contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Through citizen science, the public can put their curiosity at the service of scientists, by helping them “do” science —collecting or analyzing data— that would be otherwise hard for them to carry out.
Studying Dragonfly Swarms with Citizen Science
By John Ohab July 11th, 2011 at 10:46 am | Comment
Christine Goforth is an entomology Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on the aquatic insects of the Sonoran Desert, especially the parental care behaviors of the giant water bugs and using aquatic insects to indicate and manage water quality issues in Arizona.
In July of 2009, a friend and I arrived at a lake to collect water samples for work. We had worked at the lake many times, but something was different that day: several hundred dragonflies were flying over the grass.
We often saw dragonflies, but there were 50 times the usual number and they weren’t in their usual places. We knew something exciting was happening, so we jotted down notes. I returned to the lake twice to record more observations of the swarm and simply appreciate the marvel of nature that I witnessed. Then they were gone.
That experience changed me. I am an aquatic entomologist with an interest in dragonfly behavior, but that swarm captured my attention like nothing else. I needed to know more about it! I looked into the scientific literature to find answers, but discovered that little is known about dragonfly swarms.
Celebrate Father’s Day at the Pollinator-Palooza
By John Ohab June 17th, 2011 at 10:22 am | Comment
A Common Blue Morpho butterfly lands on a young visitor at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. (Photo: Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House)
Next week is National Pollinator Week!
Pollinators, like bees, birds, and butterflies, play an important role in all of our lives. They aid in flowering plant reproduction, help ensure the health of national forests and grasslands, and work together with famers and ranchers in the production of fruits and vegetables. National Pollinator Week is a yearly effort to build more awareness about the need to maintain a healthy pollinator population.
Today, we’re highlighting one of the many National Pollinator Week events taking place all over the nation: the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Pollinator-Palooza.
To celebrate National Pollinator Week, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House is connecting people with pollinators in a whole new way. On Father’s Day, families in the Greater St Louis Area and beyond are invited to join games and crafts (designed for kids ages 2-11), observe bee hives, and ask a trained entomologist about pollination or the pollinators themselves.
I had a chance to chat with Laura Chisholm, a program specialist and entomologist at the Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House, about what we can expect at this weekend’s Pollinator Palooza. Laura knows her bugs! She runs the Pollinator-Palooza event and Bug Hunt which occur during the June and July. She also assists with other special events throughout the year, including October Owls and Orchids, March Morpho Mania, Booterflies, and Hot! Hot! Hot!
Leafsnap: a mobile app to identify tree species
By John Ohab June 7th, 2011 at 9:40 am | Comment
Leafsnap: By Columbia University, University of Maryland, and Smithsonian Institution
I love being in the outdoors amongst nature – but then who doesn’t? I also have a fascination for all things technological. Sadly, all too often these two passions are incompatible. For as us techie-lovers know, too many an hour can be spent cooped up inside staring at a computer screen.
The emergence of the smartphone now means that we can effectively carry powerful little computers around in our pockets. Programmers have sought to exploit this new technology and let citizen scientists get more involved.
Hot on the heels of MoGo and SoundAroundYou, Columbia University and the University of Maryland teamed up to create a new iPhone app called Leafsnap. Seeking to use smartphone technology to engage people in their environment, it promises to answer to that question, “I wonder what type of tree that is?,” when you don’t have anyone to ask.
Utilizing visual recognition technology and an Internet-enabled smartphone, the Leafsnap app identifies plant species with the phone’s built-in camera. I was excited by this prospect, and so tearing myself away from the laptop (iPhone in hand), I set out into the great outdoors to put Leafsnap through its paces. Here’s what I found:
Leafsnap performed well on both an iPhone and iPad; it is easy to use and boasts a wealth of great features. After “snapping” and uploading an image of a tree’s leaf, you are presented with a list of likely candidates. Bark, flower and leaf images and accompanying facts then let you work out if Leafsnap has found your tree. Your findings are saved and placed on a world map, letting you see what other people have also spotted in your area. I never knew the Yoshino Cherry tree grew in our part of the world!
OpenSignalMaps: Mapping the world’s signal strength
By John Ohab June 1st, 2011 at 9:45 am | Comment
OpenSignalMaps: Mapping the world's signal strength
This guest post was written by James Robinson, lead Android developer on the OpenSignalMaps team. OpenSignalMaps was founded by four friends who saw the need for an independent means of comparing cell phone carriers. James holds a Master’s degree in Physics and Philosophy from Oxford University.
At OpenSignalMaps, we’re mapping cell signal strength and wifi access points. Through our Android application, 400,000 users have submitted readings — from the remote island of Svalbard north of Norway to Ushaia, the world’s southernmost town, our maps are filling out. We’re building an impartial view of the world’s networks.
For many people, a smartphone will be their first “computer.” Smartphones are cheaper than netbooks, use less electricity, and you can make calls if you have signal. But poor signal or low network speed (another thing the mobile app measures) can make smartphones pretty dumb.
Using our Android app (the iPhone & Blackberry apps in development), we’re building a comprehensive and unbiased map of global networks. Previously, coverage maps have been provided by carriers who have their own interests to serve. We think it’s crucial to give an independent account of the carriers, and the citizen scientists who use the app are helping us determine which network is best for any geographical region.
