In honor of Earth Day, we want to engage regular people in real science to protect the planet at 6 PM on April 22!
As we face global challenges, we may want to find local ways to make a difference in protecting endangered species, safeguarding water sources, preventing disease, or accelerating medical research. Science needs more eyes, ears and perspectives than any scientist possesses. Enter citizen science: a collaboration between scientists and those of us who are just curious or concerned and motivated to make a difference. People just like you are collecting data by taking photos of clouds or streams, documenting changes in nature, using smartphone sensors to help scientists monitor water and air quality, or playing games to help advance health and medical research. SciStarter helps you discover opportunities to participate in this movement that’s sweeping the globe. SciStarter is the place to find, join, and contribute to science through providing people access to more than 3,000 searchable formal and informal research projects and events. But more than just a project directory, SciStarter also offers a coordinated place to record contributions, access the tools and instruments needed to participate in citizen science projects, and measure individual and collective impact across projects and platforms.
This particular workshop will focus on projects found at Verizon.SciStarter.org, providing a free guide to get folks started doing real science to make the world a better place. Participants will learn about how they can use their smartphone to document plants and animals, how they can measure light pollution for a clearer night sky, and how they can speed up the search for a cure to Alzheimer's disease by annotating blood vessels online.