Every April, with help from the Nationwide Library of Medication, SciStarter, in partnership with Arizona State College, hosts Citizen Science Month, a one-of-a-kind celebration of citizen science that features occasions hosted around the globe, hundreds of contributors and lots of of hundreds of recent contributions to citizen science initiatives. Citizen Science Month 2022 featured collaborations with the Nationwide Science Basis, PBS, NASA and others.
“Citizen Science Month is probably the most thrilling time of the yr for SciStarter and citizen science, and I’m so thrilled to see individuals around the globe collaborating in initiatives, studying extra about their world and making a direct impression on scientific analysis and discovery,” says SciStarter founder Darlene Cavalier. “We had so many nice occasions this yr masking an enormous range of subjects, and I can’t wait to see what subsequent yr brings.”
Citizen Science Month Success
Citizen Science Month 2022 featured 114 completely different occasions reaching lots of of hundreds of individuals, each on-line and in-person, and together with individuals and initiatives from around the globe. That included occasions from companions like All of Us, who hosted a number of webinars on particular subjects throughout April like Celebrating Ladies in Science with All of Us California, and the Nationwide Citizen and Group Science Library Community, who highlighted pollinator safety with My Backyard of a Thousand Bees. By these occasions, individuals realized about new initiatives and methods to attach science to their very own lives.
Our social posts throughout the month, which included a takeover of the NSF Twitter account, reached greater than 690,000 individuals! Our free assets for undertaking and occasion leaders, together with the Foundations of Citizen Science tutorial, booklists, coaching webinars, printable and on-line graphics, logos and inventory images have been downloaded 18,947 occasions — nearly 4,000 extra downloads than in 2021.
In partnership with PBS Books and PBS NewsHour Scholar Reporting Labs, SciStarter additionally offered Benjamin Franklin and Citizen Science: Sharing Tales of Collective Affect. Audiences watched the trailer for the brand new Ken Burns documentary on Benjamin Franklin, and heard from real-life scientists and PBS Child Reporters speaking about science of their communities. Individuals have been launched to the lifetime of the Founding Father and lifelong beginner scientist, and offered citizen science initiatives that anybody across the nation can get entangled in.
“I consider Ben Franklin as one in every of America’s first citizen scientists — he was curious, dedicated and all the time exploring new issues,” Cavalier says, “And he usually crowdsourced his discoveries. Immediately, there are such a lot of methods to faucet into your individual curiosity by way of citizen science!”
One other nice occasion got here from Distinctive Mappers Nigeria, whose Land Air pollution Lookout undertaking enlists citizen scientists to watch oil spills in Africa’s Niger Delta, by way of on-line interactions. The undertaking was in a position to assess and validate 1,500 photos of potential oil spills in simply over eight days because of greater than 250 volunteers who took half. All that work paid off because the group recognized 81 oil spills within the Niger Delta, offering scientists with beneficial info on a harmful environmental hazard.
“The undertaking is price it, thanks Distinctive Mappers Crew Nigeria for collaborating to supply information on oil air pollution in a part of the Niger Delta area in Nigeria,” mentioned participant Chukwu Kingsley Chika. “I’m completely happy to be a part of the answer, and I want to be a part of it anytime.”
SciStarter additionally heard from contributors on our web site, who shared the initiatives they bought concerned with throughout Citizen Science Month, in addition to what they realized. “I launched my son to the NASA Globe Clouds undertaking,” mentioned SciStarter consumer Michelle Moore. “We simply began the iNaturalist images of nature collectively and we’re bonding over nature, science and images! Greatest second up to now has been figuring out the hen that sits exterior of our window.”
It’s By no means Too Early to Plan for Subsequent April
Anybody can plan a citizen science occasion and interact individuals of all ages in actual scientific analysis — and on SciStarter, you’ll be able to add or discover a citizen science undertaking, occasion or software any time of the yr, not simply in April! Sources from April are nonetheless obtainable, and to remain within the loop about upcoming help for 2023, you should definitely be a part of SciStarter.org.
SciStarter is now in search of sponsors to hitch the Nationwide Library Medication in rising and sustaining Citizen Science Month 2023-2026! sponsors ought to e mail data@SciStarter.org.
