Category: SciStarter Blog

Photo 5726794, (c) Sean Blaney, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). This observation on iNaturalist is of a species tracked by the Northeast Alpine Flower Watch project. Biodiversity Citizen Science Ecology SciStarter Blog 

Explore Biodiversity with iNaturalist

Science Connected, , ,

Do you want to know more about the world around you? You can get outside and explore biodiversity and the natural environment with iNaturalist!  iNaturalist allows anyone, anywhere to contribute to a global record of biodiversity by uploading pictures of plants and animals with their smartphone or computer. In a new podcast episode (listen below!), co-host Justin Schell talks with Dr. Carrie Seltzer, the Stakeholder Engagement Strategist for iNaturalist, and with representatives and a volunteer from the Appalachian Mountain club. Tip: add your iNaturalist username to your SciStarter dashboard, and…

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A red crane sits idle at the SWRP mine next to Boulder Ridge. A chain link fence separates the two properties. Citizen Science Environment Health SciStarter Blog 

Researchers, regulators, and residents collaborate to test air quality sensors

Science Connected, ,

This article was originally published by SciStarter on February 4, 2019. By Margaret Hinrichs In early 2018, Scistarter and Arizona State University began the process of collaborating with a local community, Boulder Ridge, to measure the quality of its air. Boulder Ridge is a 55 and older retirement community in Phoenix. Over the past three years, Boulder Ridge residents began to notice increased blasting, crushing, and trucking out of rock and dirt from an open stone mine next door operated by Southwest Rock Products, LLC. On days when there were no…

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smart science project recommendations Citizen Science SciStarter Blog 

Smart Science Project Recommendations

Science Connected, , , , ,

By Caroline Nickerson (@CHNickerson) Portions of this post are excerpted from the accompanying podcast episode and from notes shared between the SciStarter team and Kobi Gal’s research team. Smart project recommendations on SciStarter With thousands of citizen science projects listed on SciStarter, a main challenge can be finding the right project for you, one that really suits your needs and your interests. After meeting at a workshop on the Open Science of Learning hosting by CRI, Kobi Gal, a leading expert in human-centered artificial intelligence, and Darlene Cavalier, the founder…

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Citizen Science SciStarter Blog 

Citizen Science in Australia: Spotlight on Michelle Neil

Science Connected, , , ,

By Caroline Nickerson (@CHNickerson) As the interviewer and the author of this Citizen Science Connected Blog post, I’ll reveal my bias now: meeting Michelle Neil, the secretary and social media moderator of the Australian Citizen Science Association, was a highlight of the Citizen Science Association’s conference for me. I’m an unabashed Michelle fan. She sat down with me this past March in Raleigh for a wide-ranging discussion of how she got into citizen science, citizen science in Australia, and her future plans for this work. Michelle wrote about her experience…

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Blogs Citizen Science SciStarter Blog 

Rhetoric and Citizen Science in the Digital Age

Science Connected,

Wynn, James. Citizen Science in the Digital Age: Rhetoric, Science, and Public Engagement. The University of Alabama Press, 2017. 224 pages. Paperback US$24.95. Citizen scientists have repeatedly faced resistance from skeptics questioning their experience, training, and ability, but recent technological advances have brought citizen science into the digital age, transforming many aspects of the process. This ranges from the experience of being involved in a project as a citizen scientist to implementing project design and communicating results as a practitioner.  James Wynn, in his 2017 book, Citizen Science in the…

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Citizen Science Ecology SciStarter Blog 

STEM Career Q and A with Joe Siegrist

Science Connected, , , , , ,

This STEM Career Q and A is part two of three in a collaboration between SciStarter and Career in STEM, in which writers will spotlight different citizen science projects, interview project leaders about their careers, and create educational content for teachers and students. This series is available from Science Connected, Career in STEM, SciStarter, and Discover Magazine.  In this STEM Career Q and A, we talk with the lead of Project MartinRoost. Learn about his STEM career and how you can participate in the project. Q: What citizen science project do you represent? Three projects:…

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Citizen Science Ecology SciStarter Blog 

Project Martin Roost: A Scavenger Hunt in Your Backyard

Science Connected, , , , ,

This is part one of three in a collaboration between SciStarter and Career in STEM, in which writers will spotlight different citizen science projects, interview project leaders about their careers, and create educational content for teachers and students. This series is available from Science Connected, Career in STEM, SciStarter, and Discover Magazine.  As the sun sinks low below the horizon and the crisp night air begins to descend, a miraculous sight can be seen in many areas across the continental United States. Hundreds of thousands of birds will suddenly appear…

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SciStarter Blog 

Behind the Scenes of INVENTING TOMORROW with the WaterInsights™ Team

Shayna Keyles, , , ,

by Caroline Nickerson INVENTING TOMORROW, a documentary, follows several young scientists on their journey to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), a program of Society for Science & the Public. With their projects, these scientists tackle complex environmental issues affecting water, air, and soil quality. After you watch, you can help one of the teen science stars, Sahithi Pingali, achieve her goal of creating a global platform to share water quality data, so someday all people have clean water in their homes and environments. First, select the WaterInsights™…

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Oceanography SciStarter Blog 

Diving into Citizen Science with Ocean Sanctuaries

Science Connected, , , , ,

by Michael Bear Since 2000, I’ve been an avid scuba diver in Southern California. When the Yukon, a 366 ft. long Canadian warship, sunk off the coast of San Diego in July of 2000, it became an artificial reef for divers to explore, piquing my interest in and igniting a lifelong passion for diving. In late 2006, my dive buddy, Barbara Lloyd, and I found ourselves at a crossroads. Both of us had earned various diving certifications, up to and including Rescue Diver and Master Diver. We had logged over…

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Animals SciStarter Blog 

Manatee Chat: Uncovering Manatee Secrets

Science Connected, , , ,

It has long been believed that the manatee is a solitary animal with a very simple communication system that primarily serves one purpose: to keep mom and a calf in contact. However, in recent years, these assumptions have been questioned, based on new research indicating that manatees may not be that solitary after all and that their communication system might be more complex than we previously realized.  Manatees clearly cannot compete with other marine mammals in terms of vocal complexity—such as dolphins, for example—yet we still know surprisingly little about…

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