Project

Community Science in Classrooms

Engaging Maine students in authentic investigations of local ecosystems through community science since 2009.

Through our community science investigations, students partner with scientists and resource managers in real scientific research to understand local ecosystems and climate change. Community science empowers students as it builds their curiosity, connection to local ecosystems, science knowledge, and understanding of data and data analysis. They learn alongside their teachers and peers as they explore questions that have not yet been answered and data that they are the first to see and share.

Project Goals:

  • Connect students and teachers to professional scientists and resource managers through collaboration on important local research.
  • Provide educators with high-quality, locally relevant curriculum resources and professional learning experiences to support learning through community science.
  • Share our community science successes and challenges with other science learning practitioners at local, regional, and national levels.

"Our project was important because our work went to other scientists and it affected their work. My work was rewarding because it was hard to put together and fun to see finished. Being a scientist was fun because my work contributed to other scientists' work.

Bath MS student

Whether students are collecting data on intertidal crabs along transects or exploring climate datasets from NOAA, the complex learning that occurs in the context of real research efforts through our community science classroom projects give students purpose as they persist and push the bounds of their comfort and understanding.

Current Community Science Classroom Projects

We've designed four community science projects specifically geared toward teachers and students through our Ecosystem Investigation Network, with more coming soon.

Ecosystem Investigation Network

Our current community science classroom projects get students outside in local forests, fields, freshwater habitats, wetlands, or intertidal ecosystems. To see our full range of curriculum supported citizen science offerings, visit our curriculum platform.

Project Team

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