While it’s easy to leave science to scientists and experts, it’s also easy to forget we live in the natural world of trees, lakes, rocks, flowers, and much more. Citizen science projects are a fun way for schools, families, community groups, and individuals to contribute hands on to science and our understanding of the natural world.
All you need is a smartphone, time, and an internet connection to research possible projects. Scientists post their projects and use data collected by non-scientists for their research. For example, NASA has a citizen science project asking people to take pictures of trees from the ground so one of their satellites orbiting the earth can correctly calculate the number of trees on our planet. Turns out their satellite can count trees but can’t calculate the height of trees.
If you’re interested, here are several places to start your search for a fun project. Definitely search online for the terms citizen science and maybe add your country name to these terms to find local opportunities.
SciStarter Citizen Science
https://scistarter.com/page/Citizen%20Science.html
US Government Citizen Science Projects
https://www.citizenscience.gov/catalog/
Zooniverse
https://www.zooniverse.org/
National Geographic Citizen Science Projects
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/citizen-science-projects/
Scientific American Citizen Science Projects
https://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_citizen_science_projects
Help NASA Measure Trees with Your Smartphone
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/help-nasa-measure-trees-with-new-app
NASA Globe Observer Citizen Science Program
https://observer.globe.gov/
Learn More
Citizen Science.gov
https://www.citizenscience.gov/#https://www.citizenscience.gov/#
SciStarter Citizen Science
https://scistarter.org/citizen-sciencehttps://scistarter.org/citizen-science
Amazing citizen scientist projects
https://www.kcedventures.com/blog/12-amazing-citizen-scientist-projects-for-kids
Kids make great citizen scientists
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/kids-make-great-citizen-scientists
Six citizen science projects
http://simplegreenorganichappy.com/2016/05/6-citizen-science-projects-for-2016-for-kids/
Money saving citizen science projects
https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/save-money/citizen-science-projects/