Get involved with citizen-science projects from astronomy to zoology

Get involved with citizen-science projects from astronomy to zoology.

Return to main article:

PLATFORMS

Zooniverse
https://www.zooniverse.org/
The citizen-science platform began with a single project, Galaxy Zoo, in 2007; it now hosts projects from all disciplines, from classification of whale calls to the transcription of old ship logs.

 

Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/
The general-audience science magazine maintains a detailed project listing for various disciplines, from evolution to space.

 

BOINC
https://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php
The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing allows citizen scientists to donate idle computer time to projects ranging from protein-folding to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

 

Curio
https://www.crowdcurio.com/ (launches early 2014)
A general crowdsourcing platform for citizen science; the three inaugural projects will draw from botany, medieval history, and organic chemistry.

 

ASTRONOMY

EINSTEIN@home
https://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/
Donate idle computer time to search for pulsars. Hosted by BOINC.

 

Galaxy Zoo
https://zoo1.galaxyzoo.org/
Classify telescope images of galaxies by shape. Hosted by Zooniverse.

 

Be a Martian
https://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/
Tag and analyze photos from Mars. Hosted by NASA.

 

BIOLOGY

Foldit
https://fold.it/

Compete to find stable structures for medically relevant proteins.

 

eteRNA
https://eterna.cmu.edu/web/
Design molecules of RNA, a molecular cousin of DNA.

 

Phylo
https://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca/
Compare DNA sequences to help determine the tree of life.

 

Eyewire
https://eyewire.org/
Analyze images to map connections in the human brain.

 

 ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

 

eBird

eBird
https://ebird.org
Share bird sightings to help map migration patterns. (For the holiday season, consider the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.)

 

Nature’s Notebook
https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook
Track backyard flora and fauna to contribute data on climate change.

 

Project Lab
https://publiclab.org/
Learn to collect and analyze your own environmental data.

 

HEALTH

Cell Slider
www.cellslider.net
Analyze microscope images of tumor samples. Hosted by Zooniverse.

 

Personal Genome Project
https://www.personalgenomes.org/
Donate your genome and health data to scientific research.

 

 

American Gut Project

American Gut Project
https://americangut.org/
Donate samples of the bacteria living in your gut.

 

HUMANITIES

Valley of the Khans
https://exploration.nationalgeographic.com/
Analyze satellite images to search for the tomb of Genghis Khan.

 

Curarium
https://www.curarium.com/ (launches 2014)
View and analyze digitized museum collections from around the world.

 

Ancient Lives
https://www.zooniverse.org/project/ancientlives
Help digitize ancient Greek and Latin papyri manuscripts. Hosted by Zooniverse.

 

PSYCHOLOGY

Test My Brain
https://www.testmybrain.org/
Take behavioral-psychology tests and receive personal feedback.

 

Games With Words
https://www.gameswithwords.org/
Participate in experiments on the nature of language, with performance feedback.

 

Lab in the Wild
https://labinthewild.org/
Contribute to research on cultural variance in design aesthetics.

 

Project Implicit
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Assess unconscious biases and perceptions.

 

Related topics

You might also like

Eating for the Holidays, the Planet, and Your Heart

“Sustainable eating,” and healthy recipes you can prepare for the holidays.

Five Questions with Michèle Duguay

A Harvard scholar of music theory on how streaming services have changed the experience of music

Harvard Faculty Discuss Tenure Denials

New data show a shift in when, in the process, rejections occur

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

Explore More From Current Issue

Man in a suit holding a pen, smiling, seated at a desk with a soft background.

A Congenial Voice in Japanese-American Relations

Takashi Komatsu spent his life building bridges. 

Four young people sitting around a table playing a card game, with a chalkboard in the background.

On Weekends, These Harvard Math Professors Teach the Smaller Set

At Cambridge Math Circle, faculty and alumni share puzzles, riddles, and joy.

A silhouette of a person stands before glowing domes in a red, rocky landscape at sunset.

Getting to Mars (for Real)

Humans have been dreaming of living on the Red Planet for decades. Harvard researchers are on the case.