Summer is right around the corner! With school being out, it may be difficult to keep your gifted child engaged. But what if there were a way to continue to cultivate your child’s intellectual and social development while contributing to a greater community of peers, scientists, innovators, and even federal agencies? That’s where citizen science comes in!

Citizen science is defined as the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public, typically as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists.¹  

A great example of the participation in citizen science is the website and mobile application , which is a joint initiative between National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences to understand when and where organisms occur. iNaturalist is built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity all around the world to help scientists, like those at the , find and use data gathered by everyday people. Not only is this an interactive way to contribute to scientific research, but it’s an awesome opportunity to share and discuss your findings with fellow naturalists, neighbors, and members of your community.

If your child prefers a more specific area of interest, there are many websites and mobile applications that cater to data gathering as it relates to topics that are more niche. For example, the website and mobile application takes advantage of the unique knowledge and experiences of the average birdwatcher. This initiative, founded and run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, allows for the gathering of information that powers data-driven approaches to education and conservation. They even host The Cornell Lab Young Birders Event, which aims to bring together teenagers with a passion for birds.

Alternatively, if your child is more interested in exploring a whole platform of people-powered research projects to choose from, look no further than . This website offers a multitude of citizen science projects to get involved with. From projects like “Killer Whale Count” to “The Cricket Wing”, there’s no shortage of projects for your curious child to find engagement and community in.

So take some time this summer to get outdoors, connect with others, and contribute to projects that make a difference in the world!

¹Language data is provided by Oxford Languages, part of Oxford University Press

Earlier this year, I read a book called Slow Looking by Shari Tishman. Tishman is a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education whose research “focuses on the development of thinking and understanding, the role of close observation in learning, and learning in and through the arts.” Slow Looking is, as its title would suggest, about the art and practice of looking slowly — of careful observation — and the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual benefits of doing so.

One of the educational initiatives started by Tishman and her collaborators is Out of Eden Learn, a free program that combines offline activities with online interaction and invites young people to “1. slow down to observe the world around them and listen attentively to others; 2. exchange stories and perspective with one another; and 3. make connections between their own lives and bigger human stories.” Students who use the Out of Eden Learn program come from all over the world, and interact with one another through the program’s online platform. Meanwhile, their offline activities encourage them to explore their immediate surroundings in depth. For example, in one lesson plan, students make maps of their neighborhoods; go for a walk around their neighborhood and observe their surroundings carefully, taking photographs; and interview neighbors about their experiences of their local area. In this way, students come to understand that their immediate surroundings, which might often go unnoticed, may be full of stories, beauty, and interest. At the same time, students share their maps, written observations, photographs, and interviews with fellow students through the online portal, gaining insight into the lives of others around the globe.

Out of Eden Learn began in collaboration with journalist and National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek, who in 2013 began the Out of Eden project — a 21,000-mile-long journey that literally retraces the footsteps of the first humans who migrated out of Africa and across the world. Along the way, he interviews the people he meets, and, in his writing, connects their personal stories to the larger movements of our ongoing histories. As the introduction to his project states, “His words, as well as his photographs, video, and audio, create a global record of human life at the start of a new millennium as told by villagers, nomads, traders, farmers, soldiers, and artists who rarely make the news. In this way, if we choose to slow down and observe carefully, we also can rediscover our world.”

Having the opportunity to slow down and observe my surroundings more carefully is a gift I’ve been grateful for during this otherwise very difficult time. I read Tishman’s book just a month or two before the safer-at-home orders began. After the order went into effect, I began taking walks around my neighborhood in Pasadena more regularly, sometimes twice a day, tapping into that feeling of wonder that comes from rediscovering the world around you. I started to notice the birds on my block — some who I knew before, like the crows, mourning doves, and green parrots, and others who were new to me, like orioles, starlings, and the red-whiskered bull-bull. I also started to notice the stars, planets, and constellations on my nighttime walks. The birds and the stars started to feel like my companions, my friends. I’ve been happy to see them, day after day, night after night. Recognizing them, getting to know them even a little bit, I feel connected to something bigger than myself — the endless mystery and wonder of this world we inhabit.

This summer, I had the good fortune to teach two online classes for ������Ƶ. One, called Bees and Other Builders, was all about the architects of the animal world. We looked at structures built by vertebrates, such as beavers and birds, as well as structures built by invertebrates — mostly insects, such as ants, bees, and termites. I am particularly fascinated by these tiny creatures. As David Attenborough notes in the BBC documentary series Life in the Undergrowth, these small life forms are largely responsible for making the earth habitable for all of us backbone animals. The documentary offers the opportunity to observe them — and some of the incredible structures they build — in detail. Many of them are microscopic, unable to be seen by the unaided human eye. The world is full of such creatures. Whenever I’m feeling down, I think about how a single gram of bacteria can be home to up to one billion bacteria. Somehow, this knowledge helps me put my problems in perspective. It reminds me that vitality and mystery are constantly with us, often in the most overlooked of places.

Four years ago, I took my first class at . It was a film making class and I created a Lego film titled “Night of the Living Vacuum.” Since then I’ve done chemistry experiments, learned to meditate and built a Rube Goldberg machine in ������Ƶ’s various locations.

But of all the classes I’ve taken and all the instructors I’ve had, Grayson Kent and his classes really stand out. I remember his first paleontology class where I discovered we both loved reptiles and dinosaurs. Grayson is a great teacher not only because he makes the information really engaging, but also because he is so supportive of students.

Grayson’s classes are interesting and fun. He doesn’t only lecture to us. We do a lot of activities, like in our Marine Biodiversity class when we made our own sea monsters and marine species. And we watch nature documentaries together, like National Geographic. He brings out lots of fossils every class, whether it be boney fish, whale baleen or even a narwhal tusk (it was a replica) and they never cease to amaze. He even sometimes brings in live specimens for us to check out or sometimes taxidermy, like a shark or a small mammal. It’s always cool. And he tells awesome stories that make the class more exciting and interesting, such as the story of a man who was diving of the coast of an island and an elephant seal came up to him and engulfed his head in its mouth! The seal let go and the diver was unharmed.

The best part about Grayson’s classes is that he treats me and his other students like equals. His class is like a conversation and not just Grayson telling us things. He is very helpful with whatever you need and he will always hear your ideas and answer your questions without making you feel like it was silly. We both keep reptiles, and when I lost my beloved pet Bearded Dragon, he talked to me about losing his Tegu and has been very kind and supportive of me.

Grayson is a good teacher and very encouraging, but he’s also funny and makes us laugh! When we were filling out the ������Ƶ surveys for Marine Biodiversity he told us, “This is the opportunity you all get to say how much you hate me and want to get me fired!” Of course, I would NEVER want that to happen.

Would your child enjoy a summer of learning with a teacher like Grayson?  to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount!