Backyard Bark Beetles
This citizen science project provides a rare opportunity for the public to participate in real-world scientific research. Participants help to advance our understanding of bark and ambrosia beetles, which will help us to protect forests and the species that depend on them. This project has been designed as an easy and fun activity to teach kids and adults about these amazing and important creatures.
Biodiversity PEEK STEAM Curriculum
Biodiversity PEEK students spend time outside observing and wondering about the wild plants and animals we often overlook. Biodiversity PEEK kids do real, meaningful citizen-science using digital photography and an international database. Through a guided nature journal students develop their own questions, investigate/research some of these questions, share their findings and develop a feasible biodiversity project.
BirdSleuth K-12
BirdSleuth K-12 creates innovative resources that build science skills while inspiring young people to connect to local habitats, explore biodiversity, and engage in citizen science projects. With an inquiry-based approach to science curriculum, kids are engaged in scientific study and real data collection throught the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s exciting citizen science projects.
Bugs In Our Backyard
Bugs In Our Backyard is an educational outreach and collaborative research program, providing project-based learning opportunities for K-12 students– or anyone! The core activity for BioB takes advantage of the bugs in your own backyard, schoolyard or neighborhood. Students can become citizen-scientists by surveying this diversity of insects and plants.
Building a Bat House
Building a bat house is a great way to help these threatened animals. Once you’ve built your bat house, identified suitable habitat to install it, and it is successfully inhabited, join WDNR’s roost monitoring project. Through this project you can let bat researchers know about what kinds of bats inhabit your bat house, and how many bats you get each year.
*Supports Wisconsin Bat Program
Caterpillars Count!
A major goal of the Caterpillars Count! project is to provide a structured way for students and other interested individuals to learn more about the caterpillars and other insects that play a crucial role in our ecosystem.
Citizen Sort
Citizen Sort’s video games were designed in collaboration with biologists and naturalists. As you play, you’ll help classify plants, animals, and insects, and you’ll produce valuable scientific data to aid scientists in their work.
Damsels and Dragons
“Damsels and Dragons” describes the physical and behavioral characteristics of
dragonflies and damselflies. Eighty-six species of dragonflies occur throughout
Minnesota. Students also learn about a dragonfly’s life cycle as it metamorphoses
from egg to adult, and about a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
naturalist, Mark Carroll, who has done research on dragonflies.
*Supports Minnesota Odanata Survey Project
Driven to Discover
The “Driven to Discover: Enabling Authentic Inquiry through Citizen Science” program is designed around an inquiry-based curriculum for youth. The curriculum uses nationally known citizen science programs (eBird & The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project) as the basis for teaching youth how to engage in science the way scientists do.
Eterna
Solve puzzles to design molecular medicines.