Engaging your Kids through Citizen Science

Source: http://chickencoopstakeout.wordpress.com/

Citizen science projects offer a fun way to engage your family in real live science! Some research projects are just too large in scope to be completed by a few field researchers.  So scientists have capitalized on communication and other technologies to involve citizens in their collection of data. The benefits are two-fold, the researchers have a much larger body of data to draw from that will help further validate their results, and citizens develop a stronger understanding and appreciation for science.  An understanding of the methodology and science skills used in actual research is lacking in the science education our kids receive in school.  A misconception often carried by students is that science takes place in a lab and is only valid in a very controlled setting.  Citizen science offers a different perspective on how science is conducted in the real world, with Earth as the laboratory.  Children are more likely to learn from an experience in which they are personally invested and engaged.  Most citizen science projects publicly post their data and analysis so people can see the direct impact of their participation. 

 

The Nature Research Center (NRC), the new wing of the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, hosts ongoing citizen science projects from time to time.  In a recent study called The Great Chicken Coop Stakeout, NRC scientists partnered with the Wildlife Program of North Carolina State University and sought to survey the carnivores of urban areas and determine which ones were most attracted to backyard chicken coops.  Citizens installed motion sensing cameras near their chicken coops, called camera traps, and researchers reviewed this data to map out rarer species findings and to determine what predators were attracted to the coops.  A collection of photos and videos and more about the project can be found on their blog, here.  

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipmunk

How you can participate:

The chicken coop study turned over an interesting finding that has led to another request for citizen data.  Chipmunks are generally very common in urban areas, however, the cameras captured very few of these creatures in the Raleigh area.  Scientists at the museum are interested in knowing exactly where chipmunks are spotted in the Triangle area in hopes of gaining a better hold on their distribution.  If you live in the triangle area and spot a chipmunk, please visit the blog and report your finding.  The full address is http://chickencoopstakeout.wordpress.com/.

To view other citizen science projects taking place through the museum, visit http://naturalsciences.org/research-collections/citizen-science

 

 

Source: http://www.rodale.com/bird-friendly-yard

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hosting an ongoing study called Project Feeder Watch.  Citizens all across North America are asked to survey birds on their backyard feeders through the winter months of November through early April and turn their results in to the project.  Participants can join at any time before February.  To learn more about the project and begin collecting data with your children, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Overview/over_index.html.

 

 

 

 

Balsam woolly adelgid damage on Mount Mitchell
Photo by Robert F. Billings, courtesy of forestryimages.org.

Scientists at NCSU are conducting the Tiny Terrors Project, collecting citizen data on the woolly adelgid's impact on hemlocks and Fraser firs.  The adelgid pest has been terrorizing these trees in North Carolina and other states, causing massive die offs that have scientists concerned over the ability of the hemlock and fir species to survive.  Most trees that become infected are weakened and become susceptible to other diseases that ultimately lead to their demise.  Miraculously, some trees are completely infested by the adelgid but remain healthier than ever.  These trees have become the target for research, leading to the question of how these particular trees have managed to defend themselves.  Researchers are asking citizens to report healthy trees of these species that are also heavily infected by the adelgid.  For information on how to participate, visit http://www.threatenedforests.com/tinyterrors/