Photograph by Kelly Thayer, MyShot
Did you know snapping mountain-top photos of smog and listening for frog calls can help scientists? Get ideas for how you can participate in citizen science—projects in which volunteers and scientists work together to answer real-world questions and gather data.
More Ideas Like This
Observe Wildlife Anywhere
Photograph plants, animals, and other organisms on your own or as part of a BioBlitz. Use the iNaturalist app or iNaturalist.org to upload your observations and add them to a global database of biodiversity to support local to global research projects.
Measure Night-Sky Brightness
Join the Globe at Night program in documenting light pollution by submitting data based on the visibility of constellations.
Search Space
Want a chance to have an interstellar dust particle named after you? Help NASA by volunteering for Stardust@home and searching images for tiny interstellar dust impacts.
World Monitoring Day
Celebrate World Water Monitoring Day. Use a test kit to sample local bodies of water for water quality data and share the results with other communities around the world.
Bird Census
Join the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count and contribute to a wildlife census that will help scientists assess the health of bird populations.
Bird Watch
Join eBird, an online checklist project created by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Ebird allows people to report real-time bird sightings and observations.
Monitor Bird Nests
Join NestWatch, a continent-wide project to monitor bird nests. The project was started by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Count Birds
Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual event that gets bird watchers to count birds across the continent and then tallies the highest number of birds of each species seen together at one time.
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Citizen Science
Around the world ordinary people of all ages engage in citizen science—participating in projects in which volunteers and scientists work together to answer real-world questions. Much of this work is conducted close to home, sometimes in our own backyards or even in our living rooms and kitchens, with guidance from professional scientists and using established science protocols and tools. Regardless of the location and process, citizen science brings everyone into the important work of learning more about and protecting our planet.
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Freshwater Ecosystem
Freshwater is a precious resource on the Earth's surface. It is also home to many diverse fish, plant, and crustacean species. The habitats that freshwater ecosystems provide consist of lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands, streams, and springs. Use these classroom resources to help students explore and learn about these places.
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Learn at Home: Grades K-2
A curated collection for curious learners in grades K-2. With minimal supplies needed, these activities will keep young learners’ minds engaged in social studies, geography, science, and more.
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Learn at Home: Grades 3-5
Being at home is a great time to learn. This curated collection for learners in grades 3-5 can be implemented at home with minimal supplies and includes engaging, fun, and skill-building lessons in social studies, geography, science, and more.
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Learn at Home: Grades 6-12
Fostering curiosity and a passion for lifelong learning, this curated collection of activities can be adapted for students in grades 6-12 in a remote learning environment. Explore the planet through interactives and short lessons or take a deeper dive into a subject area with a complete unit.
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Learn through Play
Experts agree, play helps us understand our world, develop key social skills, build self-confidence, and mature emotionally as we grow. Play allows children and youth to be creative and encourages them to be curious, a key attitude in the National Geographic Learning Framework, which, we believe, will build the next generation of empowered explorers.
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Get Outside with Citizen Science Projects
National Geographic Education promotes citizen science projects to get everyday people outside to collect information and share it with the scientific community.
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citizen science
Encyclopedic entry. Citizen science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge. Through citizen science, people share and contribute to data monitoring and collection programs.
-
Unlocking the Educational Potential of Citizen Science
Article. Community geography, inquiry-based learning, and breaking down the boundaries between school and the real world.
-
Citizen Science
Around the world ordinary people of all ages engage in citizen science—participating in projects in which volunteers and scientists work together to answer real-world questions. Much of this work is conducted close to home, sometimes in our own backyards or even in our living rooms and kitchens, with guidance from professional scientists and using established science protocols and tools. Regardless of the location and process, citizen science brings everyone into the important work of learning more about and protecting our planet.
-
Freshwater Ecosystem
Freshwater is a precious resource on the Earth's surface. It is also home to many diverse fish, plant, and crustacean species. The habitats that freshwater ecosystems provide consist of lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands, streams, and springs. Use these classroom resources to help students explore and learn about these places.
-
Learn at Home: Grades K-2
A curated collection for curious learners in grades K-2. With minimal supplies needed, these activities will keep young learners’ minds engaged in social studies, geography, science, and more.
-
Learn at Home: Grades 3-5
Being at home is a great time to learn. This curated collection for learners in grades 3-5 can be implemented at home with minimal supplies and includes engaging, fun, and skill-building lessons in social studies, geography, science, and more.
-
Learn at Home: Grades 6-12
Fostering curiosity and a passion for lifelong learning, this curated collection of activities can be adapted for students in grades 6-12 in a remote learning environment. Explore the planet through interactives and short lessons or take a deeper dive into a subject area with a complete unit.
-
Learn through Play
Experts agree, play helps us understand our world, develop key social skills, build self-confidence, and mature emotionally as we grow. Play allows children and youth to be creative and encourages them to be curious, a key attitude in the National Geographic Learning Framework, which, we believe, will build the next generation of empowered explorers.
-
Get Outside with Citizen Science Projects
National Geographic Education promotes citizen science projects to get everyday people outside to collect information and share it with the scientific community.
-
citizen science
Encyclopedic entry. Citizen science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge. Through citizen science, people share and contribute to data monitoring and collection programs.
-
Unlocking the Educational Potential of Citizen Science
Article. Community geography, inquiry-based learning, and breaking down the boundaries between school and the real world.