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:
| Presented By | Zooniverse |
|---|---|
| Goal | Digitize biological museum collections. |
| Task | Transcribe labels and ledgers of museum’s historical collections |
| Where | Global, anywhere on the planet |
| Description | Most natural history collections are housed in museum cabinets, where they are not easily available to citizens and researchers. The Notes from Nature transcription project addresses this problem by digitizing biological collections one record at a time! Help museum staff and scientists by transcribing the labels and ledgers that have been meticulously recorded and stored over the past century. In many cases these are the only historical records of species distribution available. Join us in unlocking this important information – take some notes from nature! |
| How to get started | Visit the website at www.notesfromnature.org, choose a collection to work on, and start transcribing from your own computer! Instructions on how to find information on individual transcription fields are located in the help text of every field. You can ask questions by clicking on the “Discuss” button. |
| Social Media | Follow Notes from Nature on Twitter Find Notes from Nature on Facebook Follow the Notes from Nature |
| Total expense | 0.00 |
| Ideal Age Group | College, Graduate students, Families, High school (14 – 17 years), Middle school (11 – 13 years), Elementary school (6 – 10 years), Adults, Seniors, |
| Spend the time | Indoors |
| Ideal Frequency | Just once |
| Average Time | |
| Type of Activity | At a science center, zoo or aquarium, At school, At home, Exclusively online, |
| Topics | Ecology & Environment, Insects & Pollinators, Biology, Birds, Animals, Nature & Outdoors, Education, |
| Training Materials | https://www.notesfromnature.org |
| Classroom Materials | http://sernec.appstate.edu/education-outreach, http://studentsdiscover.org/teaching-modules/notes-from-nature/ |
| Media Mentions & Publications | The notes from nature tool for unlocking biodiversity records from museum records through citizen science. |
| Tags | biodiversity, insects, museum, natural history, plants, transcribing, words, |
| Sustainable Development Goals | Relevant Sustainable Development Goals, identified by  ?:Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Sustainable Cities and Communities Life on Land |
| Website | Notes from Nature |
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:
- Take pictures of plants and other natural things; take notes of all the details in the pictures and see what you can learn
- What museums are in your community? What are the most interesting museums have you read about?
- Draw a picture of a place where all the biological specimens are kept
- Find a list of historical fiction books; read a couple of interesting ones
- Look up a scientist who does research in biology; write an essay about them