Citizen science happens when ordinary people study the world around them and send in the data they collect to scientists. Anyone can do citizen science! Citizen science projects cover all kinds of topics like dragonflies, birds, and ants. You can learn a lot about your neighborhood or even your own backyard by joining a citizen science project. One of our favorites is Feeder Watch. You can learn more at http://feederwatch.org/. Before collecting data you can learn to identify the birds in your area using this fun SciGirls activity: http://tinyurl.com/SciGirlsBird.

*Girlstart collaborates with SciGirls to help disseminate their awesome activities, and we think this a great activity to introduce citizen science.

Have you ever experienced an earthquake? Create a model of a seismograph and replicate an earthquake to see how seismologists use this machine to record when and where earthquakes take place and how intense they are. 

Click here for a DeSTEMber activity!

Gather your shovels, brushes, and chisels to find the hidden treasures frozen in the glacier. Discover how careful archeologists have to be when they unearth fragile fossils. Using household items, excavate and examine the ‘prehistoric pieces’ in this fun Lego dig! 

Click here for a DeSTEMber activity!

Now that you’ve seen some zoos and learned about the habitat your selected animal lives in, it’s time to design a zoo habitat for your animal! Explore the basic tools within SketchUp and create your own 3-D zoo habitat model.

Click here for a DeSTEMber activity!

Download SketchUp onto your computer here: http://www.sketchup.com/