NYSCI Recruits Citizen Scientists as Part of National Project to Monitor Climate Change Across the U.S.

Press Release

NYSCI Recruits Citizen Scientists as Part of National Project to Monitor Climate Change Across the U.S.
11-25-09

Queens, N.Y. – The New York Hall of Science is recruiting individuals and families to help monitor climate change in the New York City region. The initiative is part of a nationwide project, called Communicating Climate Change (C3), which will involve volunteer citizen scientists at twelve science centers across the nation. Citizen scientists are everyday citizens who observe and collect data and submit it to a national database. These citizen scientists have an interest in climate change, but do not have specialized scientific training.

Citizen scientists will monitor local indicators of climate change in their own neighborhoods. NYSCI’s citizen scientists will observe and record changes in trees surrounding NYSCI from early spring through summer 2010. The collective data will lend insight into how climate change is affecting local neighborhoods around the United States.

The free two-hour training sessions for those wishing to participate as citizen scientists at NYSCI will be held on:

Saturday, February 20
11 am – 1 pm
This session has been designed for families with young learners.

Sunday, March 7
11 am – 1 pm
This session has been designed for all ages.

The registration deadline for both sessions is February 12. To register, please contact Tamika Whitlock at twhitlock@nysci.org, or call 718-699-0005 ext. 320. Registrants should provide the date they would like to attend, and the ages of any children who will be participating.

In addition to NYSCI, other participating science centers include Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, Arizona; Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii; Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California; EdVenture Children’s Museum, Columbia, South Carolina; the Franklin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, Maryland; Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico; New York Hall of Science, Queens, New York; Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego, California; Sciencenter, Ithaca, New York; and Saint Louis Science Center, Saint Louis, Missouri.

C3 Partners and Advisors: American Geophysical Union; Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University; Natural History Magazine; ScienCentral, Inc.; University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Office of Education and Outreach; Yale Project on Climate Change, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

C3 is funded by the National Science Foundation.

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