4-H to work with Lab of Ornithology on citizen science projects

October 26, 2012

Students participating in the BirdSleuth program

Nancy Schaff (4-H State STEM* Program Specialist) will be serving as a co-investigator on a Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) project funded by the Noyce Foundation. Noyce has provided significant funding at the national level for 4-H Science. The initial one-year CLO/4-H project will study the pilot implementation of CLO and other citizen science projects in a variety of 4-H Youth Development delivery settings (camps, after-school programs, community clubs, special interest groups) in an effort to learn about expanding participation in citizen science projects in 4-H. Citizen Science is a way for youth to learn about science and conservation by participating in real scientific studies. CLO is developing resources designed to help teachers and youth leaders engage children in asking questions, conducting investigations, and participating in citizen science through data collection and exploration. The primary project for pilot purposes is the CLO BirdSleuth project, but other citizen science projects such as BudBurst, the Lost Ladybug project, the Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project, and the Great Sunflower Project, also offer significant opportunities for youth engagement in scientific discovery.

*Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math