Real World: Citizen Science
What are citizen scientists? Why is their work so important to NASA? Join Dr. Michelle Thaller as she explains how the general public, using scientific protocols, careful observations and accurate measurements, can help NASA make exciting new discoveries. Find out how you can be a citizen scientist today.
Update: NASA's Citizen Science website is now available at https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience.
Discussion and writing prompts
1. Citizen scientists help researchers by collecting and sharing data from their own communities. Why is it valuable for scientists to have many people working together to gather information instead of relying on just a few researchers?
2. Many citizen science projects begin with simple observations, such as recording weather, tracking wildlife, or measuring environmental conditions. How can observations made in your community help scientists better understand what is happening across the country or around the world?
3. Describe one type of data you could collect in your neighborhood or school and explain how it might contribute to a larger scientific investigation that could answer an important question or solve a real-world problem.
Background Information
Grades K through 12
- GLOBE The GLOBE Program (webpage)
- GLOBE GLOBE Observer - Citizen Science (webpage)
Grades 3 through 12
- NASA eClips Ask SME: Project Scientist Marile Colon Robles (video)
Grades 5 through 12
- NASA eClips Real World: The Nature of Science (video)
- NASA 10 Things Citizen Science (webpage)
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Activities
Grades K through 12
- NASA Citizen Science Opportunities (webpage)
- NASA Citizen Science (webpage)
- Growing Beyond Earth (webpage)
Grades 3 through 12
- NASA SciStarter (webpage)
- GLOBE Observer Clouds (webpage)
- GLOBE Observer Land Cover (webpage)
- GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper (webpage)
- GLOBE Observer Trees (webpage)
- NASA Eclipses: Citizen Science (webpage)
Grades 4 through 12
- NASA Exoplanet Citizen Science (webpage)