Maryland Science Center Opportunities for Citizen Scientists
The Maryland Science Center has a several terrific citizen science programs in the earth sciences:
Earth by Aura: participants take daily UV radiation readings, make the data available online through the Society for Amateur Scientists, and compare daily readings with predicted readings from various weather services and satellites.
Citizens and Remote Sensing Observational Network (CARSON): participants make a variety of observations that are uploaded to LabRats. “Participants will be asked to monitor basic Earth indicators according to what is of most interest to you. Examples of possible environmental parameters to measure include visibility, air ozone levels, air quality index, nitrogen levels in local stream, etc. Participants will get detailed information on how to take these measurements and how it relates to environmental health as a whole.” Participants can also attend monthly meetings for citizen scientists.
Communicating Climate Change (C3): participants collect temperature or phenological data on forms that are submitted at the end of the year. The program includes a free training session to get people started with the program.
What I especially like about Maryland Science Center’s programs is the support they offer in the local community, with in-person meetings and training sessions. Great stuff!
Link: Maryland Science Center: Citizen Science
