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Learning Beyond the Classroom

April is Citizen Science Month—the perfect time to explore the world of public participation in scientific research! Citizen science enables everyday people, including students, to contribute real data to scientific investigations, making it a powerful tool for K-12 classrooms. The following resources offer a variety of ways to get involved year-round. Whether your students are budding biologists or curious coders, you'll find projects here to spark curiosity, build skills, and connect learning to the wider world.

Grades 1-12

Butterfly Counts

Read all about a citizen science program that tracks butterfly populations through annual counts in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The site explains how to participate in or start a butterfly count in a specific area and how to gather data.

Grades 1-12

Celebrate Urban Birds

Celebrate Urban Birds (CUBs), a Cornell Lab of Ornithology program, invites everyday people to observe and record urban birds, turning neighborhoods into citizen science labs while connecting communities to nature, conservation, and each other.

Grades K-12

Project Budburst

Project Budburst invites students and community scientists to observe and record plant life cycles, contributing real data to research on climate change and plant-animal interactions—a perfect hands-on citizen science opportunity for K-12 classrooms!

Grades 3-12

Citizen Science Projects

Discover how to get involved in citizen science projects that involve both local and large-scale observations and activities. Ideas include participating in a bird census, monitoring local bodies of water, collecting weather data, and more.

Grades 6-10

GLOBE at Night

Discover resources that encourage citizen scientists to submit and share observations of the night sky to help measure the impact of light pollution. Information on the site includes guidance on locating constellations, interactive maps, and more.

Grades 7-12

Zooniverse

Zooniverse is the world's largest citizen science platform, connecting volunteers with real research projects related to biology, space, climate, and more. Students can analyze data, classify images, and contribute to groundbreaking discoveries.

Grades K-12

SciStarter

Find citizen science projects for all grades, including PreK–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12, and college students! Each project has a video, thorough directions, and links for additional resources. Topics include Project Squirrel, Crowd the Tap, and more.

Grades 1-12

Planet Bee Foundation

Planet Bee's Native Bee Community Science Project invites students to build bee houses, observe local pollinators, and submit data to researchers—making it a perfect hands-on citizen science activity focused on ecology and conservation.

Grades K-12

25 Subject-Integrated Citizen Science Project Ideas for Students of All Ages

View 25 cross-curricular citizen science projects for K-12 students that span biology, space, weather, and health. Students contribute data to real researchers, making this an ideal resource for hands-on, project-based learning across all grades.

Grades 3-12

BirdSleuth

Explore grade-specific lessons, activities, and educator resources that connect students to bird science and participatory research—empowering classrooms to engage in real-world citizen science through inquiry-based, nature-focused learning.

Grades K-12

Citizen Community Science for Bees

Your students can join scientists in advancing bee research with the snap of a picture! Using the free iNaturalist app, citizen scientists find and photograph pollinators, then share their images with more than a million scientists.

Grades K-12

Community Science Opportunities

Become a citizen scientist by participating in one or more community science opportunities from the Maritime Aquarium. Projects include the City Nature Challenge, FrogWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Grades K-12

Citizen Science Month

Learn the basics of citizen science and data literacy, explore projects, and earn digital badges through free tutorials at the Citizen Science Month site. A free account unlocks the full project database and all learning modules.

Grades 3-12

Journey North

Journey North is a collaborative citizen science program that documents the migration of animals and insects. Become involved by adding your own images and sightings, or follow the site to view others' observations through maps and images.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Join us on Tuesday for our next free OK2Ask virtual workshop. We're also sharing a special topic collection, a selection of blog posts, and a professional article on citizen science. Read the details below!