Science Cheerleader

Philly NetSquared , a local chapter of the national organization, NetSquared ,brings together web innovators and social changemakers to socialize, strategize, learn from and inspire one another.

Last week, I had the opportunity to share the vision of Science Cheereleader’s sister site, ScienceForCitizens.net during one of Philly NetSquared’s monthly meetings. This particular meeting was built on the concept of Crowdsourcing Change:

“Crowdsourcing Change” will be a highly participatory event where attendees will have an opportunity to help three “Social Changers” who are using –or trying to use — the social web for the common good. The way it will work is that presenters will first explain the change they are trying to achieve through social media. Attendees, with the help of a moderator, will then provide feedback, ideas, constructive criticism and concrete instructions to help the presenters succeed. This is a great opportunity to learn and to have an impact.”

It was a wonderful experience and the attendees provided excellent suggestions (many of which will be employed). In the spirit of all the embodies ScienceForCitizens.net  it was fitting to tap the wisdom of the crowds in our effort to strengthen ScienceForCitizens.net! Thank you, Philly NetSquared (and Jacquie Lewis for nominating me)!

Hot diggity-DOG! After years in the making, my partner, Michael Gold, and I–with generous support from Science House–have officially unveiled the beta version (that means this is still a work-in-progress) of ScienceForCitizens.net . Science journalist, Carl Zimmer, who frequently writes for Discover and Time Magazine, said “It’s like Amazon.com for all sorts of possibilities for doing cool citizen science”. We’ll take that!

We’re seeking your feedback on ways we can make the site a phenomenal resource for all who use it. And, consider registering as a new member you can can explore the many citizen science projects out there, add your own project, create a personalized blog, or just meet up online with folks who share your interests.

I had the opportunity to unveil the site during the increasingly popular Science Online 2010 conference in Durham, N.C., this past weekend where I was invited to speak about citizen science, adult science literacy, and science in the media to a captive audience of science writers and bloggers. [I think my family and local friends were relieved to finally catch a break from me yapping about these topics every chance I get. Break's over folks, sorry ]

Here’s more about the Citizen Science session and the launch of ScienceForCitizens.net . Soon, I’ll post a report here on some of the most interesting issues sifted from some of the other sessions at Science Online 2010,  including: Adult Science Literacy, Science in the Media, Blogging 102, and more. For now, here’s a picture taken at the conference, of me (left) with uber science communicators: Dr. Kiki Sanford, Rebecca Skloot, and Joanne Manaster.

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 .

Great primer for the January launch of SciCheer’s sister site, ScienceforCitizens.net. Today, SEED published this article on the growth of citizen scientists then the author tweeted a link to scicheer. Here are two big points pulled from the article:

Researchers in fields ranging from biochemistry to cosmology are recruiting armies of volunteers to help solve some of science’s thorniest problems.

Citizen science isn’t just a public relations exercise: it makes a significant contribution to the corpus of scientific knowledge. Improved public awareness of science is an important additional benefit, but it’s not the primary goal of citizen science. Rather, this emerging technique allows scientists to make use of what is still the most powerful computational resource on the planet: the human brain.

Want to get involved? Start here. In January, we’ll have LOTS of opportunities to get your hands dirty with science. Stay tuned!

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 (more…)

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting with folks from Science House. James Jorasch (Founder) and Gabi De Wit (Project Coordinator) are helping me and my partner, Michael Gold, with the January 2010 beta launch of ScienceforCitizens.net, a major multifunctional Web site that will act as a centralized hub to enable people to learn about, participate in, and contribute to science through recreational and formal research activities. Stay tuned!

In the interim, check out all that Science House has to offer. They have one simple mission: bring people together to promote and advance science. And they’re executing many creative programs to achieve that goal.

(I just submitted a photo to their Humorous Science Photo Contest.)