Top 10 'Wonder-Fueling' Citizen Science Projects to explore in your own backyard on weekends
"I'm bored!"
If you're a parent, these two words are probably the soundtrack to your weekends. It’s the familiar chorus that signals the start of a screen-time negotiation or a desperate scramble for activities to fill the long hours. We try to plan picnics, bike rides, and playdates, but sometimes, what we and our kids really crave is a sense of purpose and discovery—something more engaging than just passing the time.
What if I told you that your own backyard, or the local park down the street, is a gateway to real scientific discovery? What if you and your kids could become collaborators on major research projects, helping scientists understand our world better, all while having an incredible amount of fun? This isn't science fiction; it's citizen science. It's the simple, powerful idea that anyone, anywhere—yes, even you and your wonderfully curious children—can contribute to the collection of scientific data. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that the best learning happens when it's wrapped in adventure, and that’s exactly what citizen science offers.
So, let's trade the screen-time battles for scavenger hunts and the "I'm boreds" for "Wow, look at that!" This weekend, transform your outdoor space into a living laboratory. Here are ten wonder-fueling citizen science projects perfect for families ready to explore, learn, and make a genuine difference together.
1. Become an Avian Ace with eBird
eBird, run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is one of the world's largest biodiversity-related science projects. It’s essentially a global logbook for bird sightings. By simply recording the birds you see and hear, you’re providing crucial data that helps scientists understand bird populations, migration patterns, and the impact of environmental changes. It’s a perfect entry point into the world of citizen science because birds are everywhere, and you don’t need to be an expert to start.
The process is delightfully simple. Download the eBird app, create a free account, and start a checklist whenever you go for a walk or even just sit by your window. The app uses your phone's GPS to log the location and time. Your job is to identify the birds you see, count them, and submit your list. Don’t worry if you can’t identify every single bird! The app has a built-in tool, Merlin Bird ID, that can help you identify a bird from a photo or a description of its size, color, and behavior.
Weekend Tips:
- Start Small: Don't try to identify everything at once. Focus on 3-5 common birds in your area, like sparrows, robins, or pigeons. Help your kids learn their names, calls, and habits.
- Make a DIY Feeder: Attract more subjects to your lab! A simple bird feeder made from a plastic bottle or pinecone covered in peanut butter and seeds will bring the birds to you, making observation easy for little ones.
- Time it Right: Birds are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. A 15-minute "bird blitz" during these times can be more fruitful and hold a child's attention better than a long, meandering watch.
2. Map the Insect World with iNaturalist
Do your kids have a fascination with all things creepy and crawly? Then iNaturalist is the project for you. This powerful app and website, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, is a crowd-sourced species identification system and organism occurrence recording tool. In simpler terms: you take a picture of a plant, bug, or animal, and a community of experts and A.I. helps you figure out what it is.
Every "research-grade" observation you upload—meaning it has a photo, date, and location and has been identified by the community—becomes part of a massive global database used by scientists to study biodiversity. It turns a simple walk into a high-tech biological survey. You can discover the names of the strange beetles under the porch steps, the fuzzy caterpillar on the milkweed, or the intricate spider web in the corner of the garden. It’s a treasure hunt where every find teaches you something new about the ecosystem right under your nose.
Weekend Tips:
- Go on a "BioBlitz": Set a timer for 30 minutes and challenge your family to find and photograph as many different species (insects, plants, fungi) as they can in your yard.
- Focus on a Micro-Habitat: Choose one small area, like a single flower bed, a rotting log, or the area around a porch light at night. You’ll be amazed at the sheer diversity of life you can find in one tiny spot.
- Create a Project: Older kids can use the iNaturalist platform to create their own "project" for your backyard, tracking the species they find over a whole season to see how things change.
3. Listen to the Night with FrogWatch
As dusk settles, a whole new world awakens, and its soundtrack is often provided by frogs and toads. FrogWatch USA is a project where volunteers learn to identify local frog and toad calls and report their findings. Because amphibians are sensitive to changes in their environment, they are excellent "indicator species." The presence or absence of their calls can tell scientists a lot about the health of a local wetland or waterway.
This project is fantastic because it hones listening skills, a sense of awareness that we often neglect. You don't need to see the frogs; you just need to listen. The FrogWatch website provides resources to learn the unique calls of the species in your region—some trill, some peep, some sound like a banjo string being plucked. You then sit quietly near a pond, stream, or marshy area for just a few minutes after sunset and record what you hear.
Weekend Tips:
- Learn the Calls: Spend a little time on a rainy afternoon listening to frog call recordings online. Turn it into a game: "Who can guess which frog this is?"
- Safety First: Since this is a nighttime activity, make sure you have flashlights, wear appropriate clothing, and are in a safe, familiar location. Never go near water in the dark without adult supervision.
- Map your Site: Draw a map of your listening spot. Note the weather conditions, temperature, and time. This helps kids feel like real field scientists collecting comprehensive data.
4. Become a Neighborhood Weather Watcher with CoCoRaHS
Is your child obsessed with thunderstorms, snowflakes, or the direction of the wind? You can channel that passion into the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). This is a grassroots network of volunteers of all ages working together to measure and map precipitation. The data you collect is used by the National Weather Service, meteorologists, and city planners.
All you need to participate is a 4-inch diameter, high-capacity rain gauge (you can buy one online or from a hardware store) and a safe place to set it up in your yard. Every morning, your family's "Chief Weather Officer" heads out to check the gauge and measure the precipitation to the nearest hundredth of an inch. You then log onto the CoCoRaHS website or use their app to report your measurement. It's a daily ritual that teaches consistency, measurement skills, and an appreciation for the water cycle.
Weekend Tips:
- Make a Weather Journal: Beyond just the rain gauge, encourage your kids to keep a journal where they note the daily temperature, cloud cover (are they puffy cumulus or wispy cirrus?), and wind.
- Build Your Own Weather Vane: A simple project with a straw, a pin, a pencil, and some cardstock can help you track wind direction to add to your daily observations.
- Track a Storm: When a big rainstorm is in the forecast, get excited about it! Watch the weather report together, make predictions about how much rain you'll get, and then celebrate your official measurement the next day.
5. Uncover Seasonal Secrets with Nature's Notebook
Have you ever noticed that the leaves seem to change color earlier some years, or that the first crocuses pop up while there's still snow on the ground? Nature's Notebook is a project that tracks these seasonal changes, a field of study called phenology. By observing plants and animals in your own yard, you help scientists understand how species are responding to a changing climate.
You start by selecting a few specific plants or trees in your yard or a nearby park to monitor. Then, on a regular basis (once or twice a week is great), you go out and answer a series of simple "yes/no" questions about your chosen plant. Are there leaves? Are there open flowers? Is fruit present? The app guides you through the process, and over time, you build a rich dataset that shows the life cycle of your plant. It’s a slow, meditative project that teaches patience and the beauty of subtle change.
Weekend Tips:
- Adopt a Tree: Let each family member choose their own tree or plant to be responsible for. They can name it, draw it, and become the resident expert on its seasonal journey.
- Create a Phenology Wheel: Draw a large circle divided into 12 months. In each month's slice, have your kids draw what their adopted tree looks like. This creates a beautiful visual record of the year.
- Pair it with a Story: Read books about the changing seasons to connect the scientific observations with art and literature.
6. Measure the Darkness with Globe at Night
For families who love to gaze at the stars, Globe at Night is an international campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. Your mission is simple: go outside more than an hour after sunset, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 10 minutes, and then report how many stars you can see in a specific constellation (like Orion or Leo).
You don't need a telescope or any fancy equipment—just your eyes and a smartphone or computer to submit your observation. The website provides star charts to help you find the constellation and compare what you see in the sky to a set of magnitude charts (from a sky full of bright stars to a sky where only a few are visible). This data helps create a global map of light pollution, which affects human health, wildlife, and our ability to see the wonders of the universe. As a parent, I’ve found this is a beautiful, calming activity, and it’s something Goh Ling Yong often emphasizes: finding moments of quiet awe in our busy lives.
Weekend Tips:
- Plan a Stargazing Party: Put out a blanket, make some hot chocolate, and turn it into a special event.
- Learn One Constellation a Month: Focus on learning the story and shape of just one constellation at a time. This makes the vast night sky feel more familiar and friendly.
- Use a Red-Light Flashlight: If you need a light, cover a flashlight with red cellophane. Red light doesn't ruin your night vision the way white light does, so you'll be able to see the fainter stars more easily.
7. Become a Squirrel Spy for Project Squirrel
Squirrels are so common that we often overlook them, but these clever critters are a fantastic subject for a first citizen science project. Project Squirrel invites you to become a "squirrel monitor" and report on the squirrels you see. The main goal is to understand how the urban environment affects squirrel behavior and the competition between different squirrel species (like the grey squirrel and the fox squirrel).
All you have to do is find a spot where you can observe squirrels—your backyard, a park, or a schoolyard—and spend a few minutes counting them and noting their species (if you can) and what they're doing. Are they chasing each other? Burying nuts? The website has easy guides to help you tell the different types apart. It’s a project that teaches observation skills, animal behavior, and how different species share (or don't share) a habitat.
Weekend Tips:
- Create a Squirrel Obstacle Course: (For observation, not for submission!) Build a safe and simple obstacle course using logs, boxes, and ropes to see how the squirrels navigate it. It’s a fun way to observe their agility and problem-solving skills.
- Map Their Territory: Draw a map of your yard and try to mark where you see squirrels most often. Do they have favorite trees or pathways?
- Practice "Still-Hunting": Challenge your kids to sit perfectly still for 5 minutes and just watch. This is a great skill for any kind of wildlife observation and a wonderful mindfulness exercise.
8. Join the Hunt for the Lost Ladybug
Who doesn't love ladybugs? Unfortunately, in many areas, native ladybug species are becoming rare, often outcompeted by non-native species. The Lost Ladybug Project is on a mission to find out where the native ladybugs have gone and how their populations are doing. Your family can help by becoming ladybug hunters.
The process is fun and feels like a real expedition. You gently catch ladybugs you find (a small, soft paintbrush can help coax them into a jar), take clear photos of them, and then release them unharmed. You then upload the photos to the project website, where experts will help you identify the species. It’s a tangible way to teach kids about the difference between native and invasive species and the importance of biodiversity.
Weekend Tips:
- Know Your Target: Visit the project website to see pictures of the native ladybugs in your area so you know what you’re looking for. The nine-spotted ladybug, for example, is a common one they are trying to track.
- Look in the Right Places: Ladybugs are often found on plants that have aphids (their favorite food), like roses, milkweed, and broccoli.
- Build a Bug Hotel: Create a simple shelter from pinecones, hollow sticks, and bark to attract ladybugs and other beneficial insects to your garden.
9. Dive into the World of Fungi with a Mushroom Log
While not a single, centralized project, contributing mushroom and fungi observations to a platform like iNaturalist (see #2) is a fascinating and often overlooked citizen science activity. Fungi are the great decomposers and networkers of the natural world, and scientists are still discovering so much about them. After a good rain is the perfect time to go on a "fungi foray."
Equip your kids with a magnifying glass and challenge them to find as many different kinds of fungi as they can. They grow on logs, in the leaf litter, and at the base of trees. Some are shelf-like, some look like coral, and others are classic toadstools. The sheer variety of colors, shapes, and textures is astounding. Photograph them from multiple angles (top, side, and underneath to show the gills or pores) and upload them to iNaturalist to get help with identification and contribute to biodiversity data.
Weekend Tips:
- Safety First: Establish a firm "no-touch, no-taste" rule. Many mushrooms are poisonous. This is a project for looking and photographing only.
- Create a Spore Print: For a bit of home science magic, an adult can carefully remove a mushroom cap, place it gill-side down on a piece of dark and light paper, cover it with a bowl, and leave it overnight. The next morning, you’ll have a beautiful print made from its spores.
- Focus on the "Wood Wide Web": Use your fungi hunt as a chance to talk about the amazing underground networks (mycelium) that connect trees and plants, acting like a forest internet.
10. Get Your Hands Dirty with an Earthworm Survey
What’s a better sign of a healthy garden than wiggling earthworms? An earthworm survey is a simple, hands-on way to assess the health of your soil and contribute to a broader understanding of soil ecology. While there isn't one universal project, many universities and local conservation groups run them, or you can simply follow a standard protocol and add your findings to a platform like iNaturalist.
The method, known as a "mustard extraction," is safe and fun. You mix a solution of ground mustard powder and water and pour it over a marked-out square of soil. The mustard irritates the worms' skin, causing them to come to the surface without harming them. You can then count them, identify any different types you see, and gently return them to the soil. It's a fantastic sensory activity that connects kids directly with the hidden world beneath their feet.
Weekend Tips:
- Mark Your Territory: Use a hoop or four sticks and some string to mark off a one-foot-square plot for your survey. This teaches the concept of standardized sampling.
- Combine it with Composting: Start a small compost bin or worm farm. This allows kids to see the entire lifecycle of decomposition and the crucial role worms play in creating rich soil.
- Compare Different Spots: Conduct your survey in a few different places—a patch of lawn, a garden bed, and a wilder, untended area. How do the worm counts differ? What does this tell you about the soil in each spot?
Your Adventure Awaits
The world is full of questions waiting to be answered, and your family can be part of finding those answers. These projects do more than just fill a weekend afternoon; they cultivate a scientific mindset. They teach your children how to observe carefully, ask thoughtful questions, record data, and see themselves as capable, active participants in the world around them.
More importantly, they create shared memories. You’ll remember the day you finally identified that mystery bird, the evening you heard a chorus of tree frogs for the first time, or the thrill of finding a rare ladybug. You’re not just collecting data; you're building a foundation of curiosity and a lifelong love for learning and nature.
So this weekend, pick just one. Don't feel pressured to do them all. Choose the project that sparks the most excitement for your family, and just give it a try. Step outside, look a little closer, and let the wonder begin.
Which citizen science project are you most excited to explore with your kids? Share your plans and discoveries in the comments below
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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