Citizen Science: Celebrate & Connect

This badge validates a demonstration of the development of scientific literacy and research skills through "hands-on" experience with citizen science research projects.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) provides science-based knowledge to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century. SERC leads research on coastal ecosystems—where the land meets the sea—to inform real-world decisions for wise policies, best business practices, and a sustainable planet.

The Anacostia Watershed Society fosters and builds a strong shared sense of togetherness, passion, and connection to the Anacostia River. They welcome people of all backgrounds, communities, experiences, and identities to participate in and shape their programs.

Capital Nature is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing nature into the lives of Washington Metro area residents and visitors. They are a fiscal 501c3 project of Green Spaces for DC.

SciStarter helps bring together millions of curious and concerned people in the world; the thousands of opportunities to engage in real-world research questions in collaboration with researchers, communities, organizations, and companies; and the resources, products, and services that enable people to pursue and enjoy these activities while learning and accelerating important research.

The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers — more than a million people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Our goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, datasets useful to the wider research community, and many publications.

Through citizen science and crowdsourcing, the federal government and nongovernmental organizations can engage the American public in addressing societal needs and accelerating science, technology, and innovation.

District residents can learn more about the wildlife by participating in national and regional citizen science initiatives that provide hands on experience watching and monitoring plants and wildlife.

What can you do as a citizen scientist in a national park? Most likely you’ll collect data and upload them to a database. In some cases you can explore, graph, and analyze data. If the project is new, you may be able to make suggestions about study design or procedures. In all cases, you will learn and experience real science.

Science is interconnected; no important question stands alone. The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is an organization where discoveries in one scientific discipline have a direct route to other areas of study. This flow is something extremely valuable and is rare in the scientific world.

Budburst brings together researchers, educators, and community scientists to help answer important questions around the effects of climate change on plants and animals—and how we can mitigate those effects.

A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible.

The mission of Project Implicit is to educate the public about bias and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the internet. Project Implicit scientists produce high-impact research that forms the basis of our scientific knowledge about bias and disparities.

Dedicated to advancing the understanding and protection of the natural world, the Cornell Lab joins with people from all walks of life to make new scientific discoveries, share insights, and galvanize conservation action.

Old Weather volunteers explore, mark, and transcribe historic ships' logs from the 19th and early 20th centuries. This task is impossible for computers due to diverse and idiosyncratic handwriting that only human beings can read and understand effectively.