Homeschoolers have so many opportunities to take learning beyond the traditional scope of education. We love to meet experts in topics we’re studying, go on field trips, dive into project-based learning, and get out to explore our community and beyond. Many of us also homeschool with citizen science projects – we learn as we collect and submit data to support scientific research and knowledge in a number of diverse areas.

Citizen Science Defined

People have tracked the stars, weather, and animal migration for thousands of years. We’ve never had to be trained scientists to make observations about the world around us. The term ‘citizen science’ cropped up in the 1990s but we were coordinating our observations well before then.

Thomas Jefferson, seeking to track and predict the weather, set up a network of weather observers in six east coast states. This provided the foundation for the Cooperative Observer Program, established in 1890. Today, that program has nearly 9,000 citizen scientists who contribute data to the National Weather Service.

Another long-standing program is The Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, which began in 1900. This annual event draws thousands of citizen volunteers in the U.S., Canada, and some Latin American and Caribbean countries who contribute data for an early-winter bird census.

Tree Swallow looking out of nest box.
Tree Swallow mom looking out of her nest box – Nest Watch citizen science project. (The cover photo shows the nest inside the box.)

Why You Should Participate

Today, you can find citizen science projects for nearly anything you and your children are interested in. Outdoors, you can monitor bird nest boxes, water quality, light pollution, and more. Indoors, there are many online opportunities to help with data analysis. Children as young as six years old can help. They might classify digital images of animals caught on camera or find and measure asteroids in image sets.

Citizen science projects will give your children focus and clarity. They’ll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for their topic. They’ll have access to the research findings. They’re doing something for the greater good. AND, it’s free!

Newly hatched chicks in a nest box.
This is the same nest shown in the cover photo one week later. Four newly hatched Tree Swallows and one on the way. (We kept our visit super short.)

Resources to Find Citizen Science Projects

Here are just a few of the many available resources to help you homeschool with citizen science projects:

  • SciStarter lists more than 3,000 projects searchable by location, topic, and age level.
  • Zooniverse has more than 50 active projects classified by discipline (e.g. climate, history, medicine, etc).
  • Look locally. Your city, county, and state likely all have multiple opportunities for you and your children. You just need to ask.
Citizen science projects outdoors.
Outdoor citizen science projects can take you to beautiful places

My family has been involved in citizen science since 2015 through our county open space system. We’ve helped with Nest Watch every year and spent several seasons collecting data for Frog Watch and The Butterfly Monitoring Network. One of my children also is a regular contributor to eBird, a citizen science program centered on bird sightings.

The time we’ve spent doing citizen science projects has added immeasurably to our homeschooling efforts. We see our world a little differently. A little more clearly. And we’ve allowed scientists and researchers to do the same.

P.S. You might also be interested in my post on service-learning projects through The Jane Goodall Institute.