March 2022
Do you love citizen science? We do!
We at the Science Math Resource Center are fans of citizen science and are working to build a Citizen Science Network. We will be sending this occasional e-newsletter to share news and information about citizen science events and opportunities at MSU, in Montana and across the country. If you have an item to share, an idea for building the network, or a question, please contact the MSU Science Math Resource Center.
Let's talk citizen science at MSU March 24
Join us Thursday, March 24 at MSU
9:30-10:30am, SUB Room 236
Whether you're an experienced veteran or brand new to citizen science, we want to hear your ideas on how MSU can be more involved in Citizen Science Month (April 2022) and in citizen science overall.

On Thursday, March 24 from 9:30 - 10:30 in SUB 236 we will brainstorm ideas on how to take citizen science to the next level at MSU-Bozeman. Please RSVP here.

Due to the interactive nature of this session, the meeting is in-person only. However, if you are interested but can't join us, please email us and we will keep you informed.


This meetup is hosted by the MSU Science Math Resource Center, MSU People-Places-Water Lab, Montana NSF EPSCoR and the NASA AEROKATS and ROVER Education Network.
Flathead Lake Biological Station seeks clean water data in Montana
The University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station is offering financial support to citizen groups that help the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) collect water quality data throughout the state. The new initiative is called Monitoring Montana Waters (MMW), and it can fund up to $6000 for groups that can continue some of the testing programs that are set up.

Learn about the program in this KTVH article, or visit Monitoring Montana Waters. The program is run by University of Montana assistant professor Rachel Malison and Big Sky Watershed Corps member Claire Kirk.
MSU offers free youth curriculum materials for budding citizen scientists
A National Science Foundation-funded research project has partnered to create a youth curriculum kit that helps young people think deeply about the land we live on. One chapter is on citizen science!

Land Use Explorers is an outreach product of the NSF-funded WAFERx project: Water-Agriculture-Food-Energy-Research Nexus. The researchers are based at MSU, University of South Dakota and University of Wyoming. 500 kits were disseminated in the three states in Summer 2021, but the entire activity book -- including the citizen science lesson -- can be downloaded for free.

Visit the Land Use Explorers website or email Suzi Taylor for more information.
Cool citizen science projects
Citizen science project gamifies classification of shapes in the world's writing systems


Researchers have developed an online game to crowdsource letter shape classification. The project will allow researchers to understand how letters evolved to be distinctive and informative. There is no single system for classifying all the writing systems in the world. The project is called Glyph.
Did you know that used tires are a prime habitat for mosquitoes?

Between March and June, citizen scientists can use GLOBE Observer to identify where tires are or could be used as breeding sites. Participants will document the mosquito tire habitat by submitting a photo using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool within the app and follow up with the Land Cover tool to provide photos of the tire location.
Check out these resources on our Science Math Resource Center Citizen Science Network page

Intro to citizen science presentations:
  • for tribal college libraries
  • for MSU graduate students
[Both of these will be helpful for anyone getting started in citizen science]

A link to our MSU micro-site on SciStarter.org

A list of the citizen science projects featured in our custom kits
This newsletter is brought to you by the MSU Science Math Resource Center with support from the NASA AEROKATS and ROVER Education Network (AREN) and Montana NSF EPSCoR