What is Citizen Science?

Every day, across the country, ordinary Americans known as “citizen scientists” make critical contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering and math by collecting, analyzing, and sharing a wide range of data in different areas of research.

Citizen science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge and has been around for many years.  Previous to the establishment of scientific research programs in the 18th and 19th centuries, most scientific research was carried out by citizen scientists and many of our country’s most prominent scientists got their first taste of science by participating in citizen-science projects and even today, society has much to gain by including non-experts in the scientific enterprise.

Citizen scientists may have varying levels of expertise, from kids in their backyards to members of high school science clubs to amateurs with sophisticated home equipment and participate in a wide array of research topics from wildlife monitoring to agriculture to genetics to archaeology.

Today, advances in information technology resources allow individuals to share information over large distances, enabling large groups of citizens to participate in research projects of interest together across the globe. Many scientists and researchers today are discovering that citizen scientists play a vital role, by helping to collect and analyze data over wide geographical distances.

Backyard Biofuels, a collaborative citizen science program between the Danforth Plant Science Center and St. Louis Science Center, opened to the public in 2010. Since then, thousands of algae collection kits were distributed and several hundred “algae hunters,” ranging from the age of six to adults contributed algae from across the nation. The Backyard Biofuels Project not only contributed valuable sets of naturally-occurring oil-producing algae to bioenergy scientists for investigative research; importantly, it allowed students whose interest in science could be enhanced by working side-by-side with “real” scientists in cutting-edge research laboratories to be identified and nurtured.

In 2012, the Danforth Center launched BrachyBio!, a citizen science project that is a collaboration between Cornell University and the Boyce Thompson Institute. Dr. Tom Brutnell, Director of the Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Danforth Center, serves as the project leader of the BrachyBio! program at the Danforth Center. As part of the program, the Danforth Center faculty hosts teacher training which introduces educators to brachypodium distachyon, a wild annual grass endemic to the Mediterranean and Middle East, and a model system for bioenergy grasses. Teachers learn about plant growth and development, plant genomics research and receive a “plant growth kit” containing lights, seedling flats, seed packets and soil to use in performing genetic screens of brachypodium plants. The BrachyBio! outreach program also includes classroom lesson plans, an online photo gallery, videos, and a social networking platform through which students and teachers can share their results.

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