We are big fans of citizen science! Of course, science is always cool, and STEM/STEAM projects are an increasing part of everyone’s work and school experiences. So understanding how science works is not just fun, but a good way to understand what is going on in the world around us all.
So we are sharing some neat science you can do, contributing toward large projects, and learning new things. Maybe you can use this today; maybe you will save it for later. As long as you enjoy some exploration and learning new things – citizen science is for you! And it is definitely something you can use to bring some good programming to your library.
Check out this project from SciStarter:
| Goal | Identify land use changes |
|---|---|
| Task | Markup the land use in pairs of images |
| Where | View map… |
| Description | Landscape Watch is a new project to map landscape changes in Hampshire over the last eight years. The objective is to characterise the county’s landscape on two dates by analysing pairs of aerial photos, and thereby identify the changes that have taken place in the landscape between these dates. The project will produce the first detailed maps of landscape in the county, together with associated statistics. Since citizen contributions are central to the production of our results, we will give the maps back to you, the citizens. That way, anyone with an interest in the changes will benefit. Following the completion of the Hampshire maps, the project aims to expand to other areas. |
| How to get started | Jump right in: http://www.hampshire.landscapewatch.com/classification.php Registration: http://www.hampshire.landscapewatch.com/register.php |
| Social Media | Follow Landscape Watch on Twitter |
| Total expense | 0.00 |
| Ideal Age Group | Graduate students, Adults, Families, College, |
| Spend the time | Indoors |
| Ideal Frequency | Just once |
| Average Time | |
| Type of Activity | At home, At a science center, zoo or aquarium, At school, Exclusively online, |
| Topics | Geology & Earth Science, Nature & Outdoors, Ecology & Environment, |
| Tags | aerial photography, change, environment change, hampshire, identification, land use change, land use markup, landscape change, markup, open data, use, |
| Sustainable Development Goals | Relevant Sustainable Development Goals, identified by  ?:Sustainable Cities and Communities |
| Website | Landscape Watch |
And if you want to bring in a few of these ideas to your library, it is useful to have a variety of different program strategies to help share this project. We have a few suggestions to help you get started:
- Have students/patrons find pictures of their favorite landscapes
- Break out the crayons and colored pencils and start drawing landscapes
- Write an essay about living in a landscape different from your own
- Identify different types of natural things, such as rocks, trees, or bugs, you would find in different landscapes
- Make lists of the different types of animals that live in different landscapes