On this Journey, Girl Scouts explore how scientists solve problems. You'll make observations, collect data, and participate in a citizen science project to learn about the scientific method. You'll also create a sustainable Take Action project that makes a difference in your community. First things first! Create a Free SciStarter Account Girl Scouts Troop Leaders About the Journey By Meeting Videos Resources Help wild animals. Count butterflies. Map a stream. These are only a few of the big challenges that scientists want to solve—but they need huge amounts of data for their research. That’s where you come in! Citizen scientists are people who are curious about the world and want to make a difference. They volunteer to collect data and send it to scientists. As a citizen scientist, you might take photos of clouds or streams, use your smartphone to monitor water and air quality, count the butterflies in your backyard, play games to help with medical research, and much more. After your citizen science project, you’ll also make a difference for others with your Take Action project! Your Take Action project must 1) be a sustainable solution and 2) use what you’ve learned throughout the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey. No matter what citizen science or Take Action project you choose, you’ll make the world a better place. Through the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey, Girl Scouts will: Explore how scientists learn new things and create solutions to some of the most important problems faced by people, animals, and the environment. Participate in a citizen science project to help real scientists with their research—and have fun doing it! Do a Take Action project to make a difference in their community. Things to Know: Meeting Plans: Volunteers can find meeting plans with activities for each part of Journey in the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit or through their council. SciStarter Accounts: Volunteers and adult facilitator SciStarter accounts are different from Girl Scout SciStarter accounts. Volunteers can use the Volunteer and Facilitator link to create their account while Girl Scouts (or their caring adults if under 13) can use this Girl Scout link to create their own accounts. Journey Awards: Girl Scouts must complete both a citizen science and Take Action project to earn the Think Like a Citizen Scientist and Take Action awards for their level. The Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey is divided into six parts or meetings. Find out how to use SciStarter for each part of the Journey below. Volunteers can find full meeting plans with activities for each level in the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit or through their council. Journey Preparation: Create your SciStarter account. It’s time to get ready for the Journey! Volunteers and adult facilitator SciStarter accounts are different from Girl Scout SciStarter accounts. Volunteers can use the Volunteer and Facilitator link to create their account while Girl Scouts (or their caring adults if under 13) can use this Girl Scout link to create their own accounts. ➤ Tips for Volunteers and Facilitators Send the Girl Scout link to your Girl Scouts (or their caring adults if under 13) to have them create their own accounts before the Journey. Think Like a Citizen Scientist Pt. 1: Explore observation. Start the Journey with activities that help you practice thinking like scientists. Then begin to watch the citizen science project videos from the “VIDEOS” tab on this page. Click the "View Project" button under each video to visit the project page with full project instructions, additional resources, and more. ➤ Tips for Volunteers and Facilitators If watching the videos isn’t possible, use the Citizen Science Project Summaries flyer to describe each recommended citizen science project to Girl Scouts. Think Like a Citizen Scientist Pt. 2: Discover data collection. Keep it going with activities that ask you to collect information about the world around you. Then watch the rest of the citizen science project videos from the “VIDEOS” tab on this page. By the end of Part 2, choose a citizen science project to participate in for Part 3. ➤ Tips for Volunteers and Facilitators Track your Girl Scouts’ projects and progress using Lists! Click the "Add to List" button (on a SciStarter affiliate project page on SciStarter) to name and save the chosen project(s) to your SciStarter Dashboard. Then share the link(s) with Girl Scouts to have them join the project(s). You can also add special instructions as notes, such as how to prepare or by when Girl Scouts need to collect data (if participating independently). To check the progress of your Girl Scouts, visit your List through your SciStarter Dashboard and click on "Stats View" in the top left. Find more information about creating and managing Lists here. Think Like a Citizen Scientist Pt. 3: Complete the citizen science project. Before the meeting, review the citizen science project’s instructions and prepare for the project. For example, you might need to gather supplies or do background research on the topic. Then follow your project’s step-by-step instructions to collect and log your data via SciStarter. If you’re under 13, your Volunteer, Facilitator, older sibling, parent, or family member (over 13) must log your data for you. Think Like a Citizen Scientist Pt. 4-6: Create a Take Action project. Plan and create a Take Action project that makes a difference for your community! For more information and examples of Take Action projects, check out the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Take Action Guide for Grades K-5 or 6-12 (also found in the “Resources” tab). When you’re done, upload your Take Action project by clicking the button below. If you’re under 13, your Volunteer, Facilitator, older sibling, parent, or family member (over 13) must submit your project for you. ➤ Upload a Take Action Project Important Note: Your Take Action project must 1) be a sustainable solution and 2) use what you’ve learned throughout the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey. You can do another citizen science project as part of your Take Action award if you either: Connect the project to your community. For example, if you do the Stream Selfie citizen science project, you may learn that streams in your area are polluted. Then you could create posters to share what you learned, bring awareness to the problem, and ask for change. Use what you learned to educate and inspire others. For example, you may decide to document your citizen science project with photos and videos. Then you could create a presentation or video to tell others how fun and important citizen science is. When You’re Done with the Journey: Keep exploring! Find Girl Scout programs with citizen science on the Girl Scouts and SciStarter page as well as other Girl Scout friendly citizen science projects at SciStarter.org/go/girl-scout-projects. While logged into your SciStarter account, you can save projects you want to participate in (such as with your troop, friends, or family) to your SciStarter dashboard to track your participation over time. 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 Check out these resources to support the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey! Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit: Girl Scout Volunteers can find full meeting plans with additional information and activities for each part of Journey through their account on the Volunteer Toolkit. Citizen Science Project Summaries: This flyer includes summaries for each recommended citizen science project. It can be used to first introduce the projects (especially if watching the videos isn’t possible) and referred back to whenever needed (such as when voting on which project(s) to complete). Take Action Guide for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors: This Take Action Guide explains the difference between Take Action and Community Service. It also includes tips to make a project sustainable and Take Action project ideas that Girl Scouts can use as inspiration for their own project. Take Action Guide for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors: This Take Action Guide includes tips on making a project sustainable and examples of Take Action projects to spark Girl Scouts’ imaginations. It also includes interactive elements that help Girl Scouts to identify problems they want to solve and the talents and skills they can use to Take Action.