Do the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey! On this Journey, Girl Scouts explore how scientists solve problems. They make observations, collect data, and participate in a citizen science project to learn about the scientific method. They also create a sustainable Take Action project that helps their community. First things first! Create a Free SciStarter Account Girl Scouts Troop Leaders For Troop Leaders For Girl Scouts Videos Before You Get Started Visit the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit to get started! Here are more resources to help you feel confident as you guide your troop along this Journey: Start to Finish Guide (PowerPoint): general overview of the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey, start to finish. Here, you will find answers to questions, including: What will the girls learn on this Journey? What is the Volunteer Toolkit? How does this Journey change for each Scouting level? How do we get to SciStarter from the Volunteer Toolkit? How to Prepare Guide (PowerPoint): step-by-step guide to implementing the Journey through SciStarter. Here, you’ll find answers to questions, including: What do the girls do on this Journey on SciStarter? What does a leader do on this Journey on SciStarter? How do we pick a project on SciStarter that works in our setting? How do we change the structure so that we complete the Journey in a day or in a weekend? What kinds of free SciStarter accounts do we need and where do we get started? Citizen Science for Girl Scouts online video How to Use SciStarter guide (PDF) FAQs Ready to Get Started? Follow the steps below! Create your free SciStarter account using the links above. View the project videos in the video tab, then select one to do together!With the girls, review the list of Girl Scout-friendly project videos below. Click the website in the video’s caption to find details about the project including instructions and additional resources. Create a List to share the project with girls: Click the project’s website link in the video’s caption. On the project’s page (on SciStarter) you’ll see an option to "add to list". While logged in, create and name your List and add any special instructions for the girls. For example, you might invite the girls to review the project information to prepare for when you do the project together; or, for older girls, you might suggest a date by which they should participate in the project independently. Here’s more information about creating and managing your List. To access your List at any point, go to your SciStarter Dashboard and select My Lists.Participate in the project: Girls will click the link to your List in the email, review project instructions, create a SciStarter account and add their name to your List. Follow the project’s step-by-step instructions and be sure to log data so it counts! Remember: scientists need that data to help answer research questions. Whether your Troop does the project together or asynchronously, you’ll be able to track and support the progress of the Girls through the List’s data analytics! It’s time to Take Action! As a final step, upload the Girls’ Take Action project using the link below. You’ll find a robust curriculum and activities for the Journey and Take Action in your Volunteer Toolkit. UPLOAD A TAKE ACTION PROJECT Ready to Get Started? Follow the steps below! Watch & Choose a ProjectWatch videos of scientists explaining their research projects. These videos can be found in the "VIDEOS" tab. Then, discuss with my sister Scouts and decide together which project we’re most excited to work on with the scientists! My Troop Leader will save these chosen projects to a SciStarter List that will be shared with me. Create a SciStarter AccountUse this special link to create my Girl Scout SciStarter account to officially participate and track our Journey progress. Review Project InstructionsClick on the SciStarter List link in the email my leader may send to find the chosen project(s). By clicking on each project within the list, I will find thorough instructions. This is where I will learn what observations or data we need to collect and how to participate correctly. Meet & ObserveGet together with my leader and sister Scouts to carry out the project. We'll make and share our observations—just like real scientists! Reflect on the ExperienceThink about the observations we made. Why is this data important in our community or location? How does it help answer the scientist’s research question? Take ActionUse what we learned to make a difference! We might share our findings, raise awareness, or encourage others to get involved in citizen science too. Celebrate Our JourneyWe’ve completed our Journey! It’s time to celebrate everything we’ve learned and accomplished as citizen scientists and Girl Scouts. Keep Exploring!Stay involved! Explore more exciting citizen science projects with your families at SciStarter.org. With my SciStarter account, I can save projects to my dashboard and track my participation over time. I can access my dashboard any time by going to this page − https://scistarter.org/dashboard. Caterpillars Count! Goal: Monitor the seasonality and abundance of foliage arthropods. Monitor the seasonality and abundance of foliage arthropods. Task: Conduct surveys of arthropods on shrubs and trees. Conduct surveys of arthropods on shrubs and trees. Tags: Arthropods, biodiversity, bird food, caterpillars, insects, phenology. Arthropods, biodiversity, bird food, caterpillars, insects, phenology. View Project EarthEcho Water Challenge Goal: Collect and share water quality data to inform water quality protection actions. Collect and share water quality data to inform water quality protection actions. Task: Test water quality, share data, and take action. Test water quality, share data, and take action. Tags: Streams, rivers, oceans, creeks, wetlands, monitoring, water, watershed. Streams, rivers, oceans, creeks, wetlands, monitoring, water, watershed. View Project Eterna Goal: Develop RNA-based medicines to combat global diseases. Develop RNA-based medicines to combat global diseases. Task: Design and study complex RNA molecules. Design and study complex RNA molecules. Tags: Medicine, vaccines, RNA, polymers, rare disease, ribosome. Medicine, vaccines, RNA, polymers, rare disease, ribosome. View Project GLOBE Observer: Land Cover Goal: Track land cover state, condition, and changes. Track land cover state, condition, and changes. Task: Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Tags: Landscape, NASA, remote sensing. Landscape, NASA, remote sensing. View Project GLOBE Observer: Mosquito Habitat Mapper Goal: Reduce the risk of vector borne disease in your community. Reduce the risk of vector borne disease in your community. Task: Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Tags: Mosquito, NASA, vector-borne disease, zika. Mosquito, NASA, vector-borne disease, zika. View Project GLOBE Observer: Trees Goal: Observe trees to understand changes in biomass and effects on the carbon cycle. Observe trees to understand changes in biomass and effects on the carbon cycle. Task: Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Download the app and help NASA scientists learn about planet Earth. Tags: Carbon cycle, forests, trees. Carbon cycle, forests, trees. View Project iNaturalist Goal: Share observations of biodiversity. Share observations of biodiversity. Task: Take photos of biodiversity and upload to iNaturalist. Take photos of biodiversity and upload to iNaturalist. Tags: Biodiversity, naturalist, nature. Biodiversity, naturalist, nature. View Project Marine Debris Tracker Goal: Monitor litter where you find it, from our oceans to your backyard. Monitor litter where you find it, from our oceans to your backyard. Task: Use the free app to report litter near you. Use the free app to report litter near you. Tags: Debris, ecology & environment, litter, marine, nature & outdoors, ocean pollution, plastic pollution, waste management. Debris, ecology & environment, litter, marine, nature & outdoors, ocean pollution, plastic pollution, waste management. View Project Nature's Notebook Goal: Help scientists take the pulse of our planet! Help scientists take the pulse of our planet! Task: Observe and share seasonal changes in plants and animals. Observe and share seasonal changes in plants and animals. Tags: Animals, biology, climate change, ecology, environment, flower, fruit, invasive, leaf, life cycle, native, nature, nest, phenology, plant, pollinator, season. Animals, biology, climate change, ecology, environment, flower, fruit, invasive, leaf, life cycle, native, nature, nest, phenology, plant, pollinator, season. View Project Stall Catchers Goal: Speed up Alzheimer's research. Speed up Alzheimer's research. Task: Report stalls, clogged blood vessels, in movies of mouse brains. Report stalls, clogged blood vessels, in movies of mouse brains. Tags: Alzheimer, blood vessels, brain, cell biology, classification, dementia, disease, gaming, health, neuroscience, stalls. Alzheimer, blood vessels, brain, cell biology, classification, dementia, disease, gaming, health, neuroscience, stalls. View Project The Great Sunflower Project Goal: To identify where pollinators are declining and improve habitat. To identify where pollinators are declining and improve habitat. Task: Watch a plant, record pollinators, report online. Watch a plant, record pollinators, report online. Tags: Bees, biology, birds, ecology & environment, gardens, insects & pollinators, nature & outdoors, pesticides, plants, pollinators. Bees, biology, birds, ecology & environment, gardens, insects & pollinators, nature & outdoors, pesticides, plants, pollinators. View Project TreeSnap Goal: Locate threatened trees for scientists to study. Locate threatened trees for scientists to study. Task: Collect sightings of threatened trees. Collect sightings of threatened trees. Tags: Ash, chestnut, forest, hiking, oak, trees, woods. Ash, chestnut, forest, hiking, oak, trees, woods. View Project ZomBee Watch Goal: Learn where in North America bees are infected by Zombie Flies. Learn where in North America bees are infected by Zombie Flies. Task: Collect honey bees; report easy-to-spot signs of infection. Collect honey bees; report easy-to-spot signs of infection. Tags: Bee, DIY, insects, library, parasite, zombee. Bee, DIY, insects, library, parasite, zombee. View Project