Encyclopedia of Earth Volunteers Needed for Massive Smithsonian Digitization Project Today the Smithsonian launches its Transcription Center website to the public. The website is designed to leverage the power of crowds to help the Smithsonian unlock the content inside thousands of digitized images of documents, such as handwritten Civil War journals, personal letters from famous artists, 100-year-old botany specimen labels and examples of early American currency. The Smithsonian has already produced digital images for millions of objects, specimens and documents in its collection. “We are thrilled to invite the public to be our partners in the creation of knowledge to help open our resources for professional and casual researchers to make new discoveries,” said Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough. The Smithsonian’s collection is so vast that transcribing its content using its own staff could take decades. Volunteers can register online today to help the Smithsonian transcribe a variety of projects relating to art, history, culture and science, including:
Spicynodes : Home Fungi Smithsonian Digital Volunteers Daily Cup of Yoga — tips, tools, & wisdom on yoga, books, & technology Notes from Nature People have been collecting specimens from the natural world for centuries - minerals, plants, fungi and animals. Today, there are an estimated two billion specimens housed in natural history museums around the world! These biological collections document where species and populations exist now and where they existed decades and centuries before, so they hold irreplaceable information necessary for uncovering the patterns of changes in species distributions and ecosystem composition over time. For the information held in these collections to be used to its full potential there must be better digital access to these data. People and Partners Multiple collections, containing specimens representing over 200 institutions, are currently involved with Notes from Nature. Kip Will, Rosemary Gillespie, Joanie Ball, Meghan Culpepper, Joyce Gross and Peter Oboyski at the University of California at Berkeley, who are key participants in the CalBug project. Notes from Nature and You
Brain Pickings NSF Citizen Science DiscoveryBe a (citizen) scientist! A celebration of open science and innovation September 30, 2015 So you want to be a citizen scientist? The National Science Foundation (NSF) has got you covered. NSF supports citizen science and crowdsourcing efforts across all areas of science, whether your passion is to scan the night sky, explore your own backyard or play video games. Projects such as these are highlighted at a White House Forum on Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing, a celebration of open science and innovation on Sept. 30. Citizen science not only opens new research avenues, but brings diverse perspectives and skill sets to research, and allows everyone to deepen their understanding and appreciation for science. Join a flock of birders eBird is an online platform that allows bird-watchers users to go online and record their sightings--both unusual visitors and the regular ones--to a database. Count every drop Search for stars with your computer Be part of a supercomputer
Citizenscience.gov Notes from Nature Natural History has its roots in the ancient world, from Aristotle’s History of Animals to Pliny the Elder’s Natural History. Collection of specimens for “Cabinets of Curiosities” flourished during the Renaissance (many of them contained fantastical faked creatures) and some of the earliest Natural History museums, like the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, were founded. By the 19th century, modern scientific collection had begun and many of today’s Natural History collections originate from this period. At present, there are an estimated 2 billion (yes, really billion) specimens housed in Natural History museums around the world – a truly astonishing record of life on earth. However, much of that information was recorded by hand or typed, making it difficult to access and impossible to bring together into any kind of big data analysis. Each transcription takes about 3 minutes to complete, all work is done online, and it’s very easy to learn. Get Involved