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In 2023, volunteers like you made more than two million contributions to SciStarter Affiliate projects. That’s two million data points that scientists would not have had otherwise.
This year’s top five projects included both old favorites and newcomers, and touched on topics near and far: the night sky, backyards, and even the inside of our bodies. Check them out below and if you haven’t already, give them a try!
As the year comes to a close, we also celebrate the citizen scientists who have gone above and beyond this year. We encourage you to read the story of SciStarter ambassador Jim Webster and how and why he brings citizen science to his community on the SciStarter blog. Read it here.
See you next year!
The SciStarter team
Presented by: Institute for Human Computing
Play a game on the free mobile app that directly accelerates Alzheimer’s research.
Scientists have discovered links between clogs (clogged blood vessels in the brain) and Alzheimer’s. Reducing these plateaus appears to reduce symptoms. Research is ongoing, but a bottleneck is examining images of mouse brains, classifying blood vessels as “fluid” or “stagnant.” Fortunately, we can help. After a quick tutorial you can start marking positions and fight Alzheimer’s.
Location: Online
Contributions 2023: 1,429,661
Report the weather in your area – all you need is a rain gauge!
Record your location and then monitor how much rain, snow or hail falls. Submit your measurements through the interactive CoCoRaHS website to provide data for research, education and natural resources applications.
Location: North America
Contributions 2023: 227,745
Image credit: iNaturalista
Presented by: California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society
Have you ever been out for a walk and wanted to learn more about an interesting flower or butterfly? iNaturalist can show you!
Take photos of trees, insects, mammals or any flora and fauna to find out what they are. Every observation you upload also contributes to the science of biodiversity, from the rarest butterfly to the most common weed in the garden. Scientists collect data about the natural world from your images – all you have to do is watch!
Location: Global
Contributions 2023: 152,667
Presented by: NASA/Zooniverse
There are celestial bodies larger than Jupiter lurking near our Solar System that have remained hidden because they are very difficult to detect.
These cool brown dwarfs can be observed in telescopic images of the night sky, and astronomers need your help to do so. Look at images from space and point out possible brown dwarfs near Earth.
Location: Online
Contributions 2023: 79,000
Presented by: Stanford Medicine
Become an RNA scientist and search for new RNA-based medicines with Eterna. All you need to do is solve short, simple puzzles that help scientists sort and analyze data that can be turned into new therapeutic compounds.Check out his latest article.
Location: Online
Contributions 2023: 71,856
