(spaceplace.nasa.gov). Websites such as Earth Observatory (earthobservatory.nasa.gov) and NASA Science News (science.nasa.gov/science-news) are great sources for older participants. You can post relevant citizen science projects next to these facts!
SECTION 5:
BEYOND CITIZEN SCIENCE MONTH
Ideas for sustained engagement and awareness growth throughout the year Citizen Science Month is a great way to kick-start, maintain or expand the promotion of your organization’s initiatives in citizen science. Build on all the great work you did—and contacts you made. Your organization is a community anchor that provides opportunities for everyday people to actively contribute to important issues through citizen science. That is powerful!
• Post reading lists, included those in this guide (see page 47) • Distribute handouts that tie into the theme of your citizen science bulletin board Loanable Science Tools: Discover information on new citizen science kits! PDFs of materials, information on how to build, borrow or buy kits and “how to” instructions can be found at SciStarter.org/libraryresources.
Now that you’ve introduced citizen science to your community, encourage people to stay engaged through SciStarter. Members can check their SciStarter dashboard for new and recommended projects and events. The dashboard helps them track their interests and contributions. Here are additional ways to keep your community interested and engaged: Bulletin Boards/Kiosks: Create an informational bulletin board around locally relevant or national citizen science issues.
Library Telescope Programs and Family Activity Backpacks contain science tools, books and activities, which are very popular for enhancing citizen science experiences. Contact your local astronomy club or Cornerstones of Science (CornerstonesofScience.org) about obtaining a high-quality, user-friendly telescope to start a Library Telescope Program within your organization.
• Trivia and Voting (with sheets of sticky dots): Let’s say your organization installed a rain gauge, so community members can report precipitation to a project known as CoCoRaHS (SciStarter.org/cocorahs-rain-hailsnow-network). Create a trivia question to see if people can guess the average precipitation in any given month. People can use the sticky dots to vote on an answer.
Find a project on SciStarter.org that aligns with your community’s interest areas. If you create a SciStarter account, you will have access to a button to “message the project scientists” on each project page. Invite the scientist to participate in an in-person or virtual event to talk about their project and lead people in doing the project.
• Awesome pictures with cool facts: There are many websites such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and others where organizations can download or request incredible photographs and cool facts. A good example for upper-elementary-aged youth is NASA’s Space Place
The Library & Community Guide to Citizen Science
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SECTION 5: Beyond Citizen Science Month
