We’re on a roll, team! Two years ago this month, ScienceCheerleader.com launched with three goals:

1) help increase adult science literacy (see Brain Makeover). [Check!]

2) raise the ranks of citizen scientists and create a shared space for researchers and the public to socialize and work together. (see ScienceForCitizens.net) [Check!]

3) open doors to public participation in science policy (see this breaking news item) [Check!]

Thursday’s ground-breaking announcement in Washington, D.C. marked an important milestone for us (we accomplished the third goal); but, more importantly, it has already started to alter thinking in Washington, D.C. and within the science community.

Two years ago, some folks thought I was “misguided,” “naive,” “nuts,” to push for this level of public participation in science. (It’s one thing to ask someone to help count fireflies or monitor water quality, but to suggest people might add value to critical science policy discussions sometimes drew reactions of shock and horror.)

In two short years, the reactions have changed considerably. On Thursday,  when we issued a report on how to build a 21st century technology assessment mechanism, and announced the formation of a network that will put the report into action, the response was incredible. From Beth Noveck at the White House, to representatives from the EPA and other government agencies as well as universities, museums–and, yes, even scientists–the reception was remarkably warm if not enthusiastic.

Here’s a virtual toast to everyone who helped make this happen. Now rest up because we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.

Posts have been less frequent because I’ve been prepping for the ScienceOnline 2010 conference in North Carolina where I’ll be speaking on the topics of Science in the Media (with Dr. Kiki); Adult Science Literacy; and Citizen Science.

Exciting news to add: I’ll be doing a soft launch of SciCheer’s sister site: ScienceForCitizens.net . It’s something my partner, Michael Gold, and I have been working on for a long time. Thanks to the generous support of Science House and help from our own Dr. John Ohab, the site is finally crystalizing! Known as “THE source for people who want to do science,” the site will serve as a Craigslist meets Match.com in the realm of citizen science. Interested in learning about or participating in research projects? We’ve got something for you (no degree? no worries! ). Looking to  find volunteers for your project? Just add it to our (soon-to-be extensive) database of projects.

Sign up to be notified when the site is live (Saturday morning) and consider joining us on Twitter (@sci4cits) and Facebook: Science For Citizens .

(Thanks, Jessie, for alerting us to this sweet vid!)

A crack team of PhD-trained golden retrievers illustrate the structure of atoms – the particles that make up everything around you. From the creative folks at PetsTeachScience.

From Discover Magazine! Pop quiz: Which former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is a (literally) big fan of science, and this magazine in particular? That’s right, defensive end Hugh Douglas. See Philly Eagles and 76ers Science Cheerleaders here.

Recently, as part of an ongoing effort to playfully engage the public in science, he chatted with DISCOVER contributor Darlene Cavalier  (who moonlights as the Science Cheerleader) and shared his thoughts on the Large Hadron Collider, spiral galaxies, ROS suppression, and more.

Come meet the Science Cheerleader team, see professional cheerleaders-turned-scientists and engineers as they dance and cheer on science, and get your hands dirty doing science with ScienceForCitizens.net activities!

At the USA Science and Engineering Festival
Festival Dates: 10/10/10 – 10/24/10
Expo on the National Mall: October 23 and 24, 2010

Larry Bock is THE reason this widely anticipated festival will take place. Building upon his success with the San Diego Science Festival, Bock’s current mission in life is to have science take over Washington, DC!

A little bit about Larry, whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with on several occasions. He’s a successful serial entrepreneur who has founded, co-founded or financed the early stage growth of 40 companies in the life and physical sciences from inception to achieving an aggregate market capitalization of in excess of $30 Billion.   He and his wife have contributed $250,000 of their own money toward the Science Festival effort and he’s  working full-time on the Festival and is not drawing any compensation. His drive is inherent in his daughter, too. (Check out her clever website where she markets her handmade headbands.)

Here’s Bock’s vision for the U.S.A. Science and Engineering Festival:

The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival will be the country’s first national science festival and will descend on the Washington, D.C. area in the Fall of 2010. The Festival promises to be the ultimate multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary celebration of science in the United States. The culmination of the Festival will be a two-day Expo in the nation’s capital that will give over 500 science & engineering organizations from all over the United States the opportunity to present themselves with a hands-on, fun science activity to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Will you be there when science takes over the National Mall? I will, in three exhibits. Come visit the Science Cheerleader team in the following exhibits (click here for current list of exhibitors–200 strong already!)

Brains and Beauty coexist. If you need proof, come see professional cheerleaders-turned-scientists and engineers as they dance and cheer on science!

Give Your Brain a Makeover (And Meet Cheerleaders!)
Come take the fun, online adult science literacy quiz (featuring the 76ers cheerleaders) and become a bonafide Science Literate! Meet the Science Cheerleader and widely acclaimed expert and author, Prof. Trefill. Plus, chat with professional cheerleaders-turned-scientists and engineers who will talk about ways they bridged these seemingly different worlds.

And activities from my soon-to-be-launched mega site, ScienceForCitizens.net , will be featured as well:

Get your hands dirty with science through ScienceforCitizens.net. Interactive demos of research projects you can join. From bugs to birds, kitchen chemistry to computer games, environmental monitoring to electronic music. Win a science trip!

I hope to see you at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in October, 2010.

What if the media covered baseball like it covers science?

Larry Husten, founder of CardioBrief.org , poses this question and presents some interesting scenarios following this line of thought. For example, the World Series would receive one article in each major paper– after the series ended–set in no context at all (a la the Nobel Prize).

Check out Husten’s piece.

You’ll see this sweet intro where he has this to say about Science Cheerleader’s Brain Makeover effort to increase adult science literacy and bring science to the public:

“Beneath the highly attractive surface here there’s something important going on. I don’t know if the Science Cheerleader can single-handedly reverse the course of scientific illiteracy, but she deserves all the cheers we can give her for at least giving it the old college try. (Thanks to USA Today reporter Rita Rubin for tweeting about this.)”

I set off for an isolated, lazy summer vacation with my family and ended up in Newsweek.com, The Scientist, Fox News, CBS 3, Toronto Star, Tech Philly, Metro, Chronicle of Higher Ed and more. Go figure!

Next up: creating a 21st century approach to science and technology policy formation in  Congress (read: bring the public into the discussions).

Thanks for joining us on this wild journey!

-Darlene

Want to support science literacy, citizen science, and participatory science and technology policy? Have I got a deal for YOU!

Buy a ScienceCheerleader.com T-shirt. (Pass the Science Cheerleader’s Brain Makeover adult science literacy quiz and get $4 bucks off the price.)

Send us a picture of you or a pal WEARING the shirt and we will post it here on sciencecheerleader.com.

GOOOO Science!

Thanks to ace reporter Nicole Brewer at CBS 3 in Philadelphia for putting this TV news feature together. In it, she talks about our efforts here on Science Cheerleader, to increase science literacy and raise the ranks of citizen scientists. GOOOOO Science! (Here’s a companion web feature.)

Part of the Brain Makeover, adult science literacy effort. People must fancy learning about the predictability of the universe (ok, Deidre’s easy on the eyes…there’s that, too).  Check it out.