Have fireflies in your area? Your kids can be citizen firefly scientists this summer.
Posted on May 30th, 2011 in seeds of change |
Do you have childhood memories of chasing fireflies on hot summer nights? In some areas of the country, it’s a beloved summer ritual.
But scientists are observing that fireflies seem to be disappearing from our landscape.
If you live in a part of the country where fireflies live, you can participate in a Firefly Watch, a citizen science project which aims to understand what’s happening with our firefly population. The Boston Museum of Science has teamed up with two universities to sponsor this project.
To participate, you observe fireflies in your own backyard or a nearby field and enter your data online. There’s no scientific training involved, and most kids can easily do it. They’ll learn something about different firefly blinking patterns and their habitat. It requires just a little bit of your time (10 minutes a week for the summer months), but you can make a big difference in our understanding of fireflies and their habitat.
No fireflies in your area? Check out this list of other citizen science projects.
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[...] dining outside, hunting for fireflies or enjoying the stars, lanterns and luminaries are a fun option for lighting the way. With a [...]