There are thousands of STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers available and yet there are not enough people to fill the positions. As a scientist and a science teacher, I’ve had my own struggles on my career path into STEM. I see many children intimidated by science and math in school. Especially if they don’t have the background and support from home. Just like reading to your kids gives them more confidence, supporting them with fun family STEM experiences can encourage your children to find success in a STEM career. Getting your kids into STEM has never been more important!
Here’s How to Get Your Kids into STEM
Kids naturally love to explore their world. My kids have always loved to play in the dirt, pick up bugs, and look for wildlife. Encouraging a love of science, technology, engineering, and math is the best thing you can do for your child’s future. It’s easy to get into science, even if you feel intimidated or don’t love science yourself. Citizen science is a fun way to involve your whole family in real science in your area. It’s also a meaningful way to help your community. New Hampshire Fish and Game has lots of citizen science projects such as counting bats, rabbits, etc.
Do I Have to Know About Science to Get Involved in Citizen Science?
Anyone can get involved in STEM through citizen science. It’s easy, fun and you and your kids can really help scientists. So how does citizen science work? Nonprofit and government agencies like Squam Lake Science Center and New Hampshire Fish and Game have limited resources and staff. Asking volunteers to collect data gives them a bigger sample to make data more accurate.
Here is a List of Local Citizen Science Opportunities
Nature Groupie
Citizen science projects need your help – counting species, monitoring water and weather and more.
UNH Extension
Citizen science needs members of the public get involved in scientific research. UNH Extension supports citizen science volunteers with projects that help ecosystems, improve scientific research, and promote scientific thinking for kids and adults.
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center also has a list of citizen science project links.
The Forest Society
Citizen science provides opportunities for volunteers to help with science research that help with understanding the natural environment in New Hampshire. Visitors can contribute to environmental monitoring of our NH forests through digital photography.
The Audubon Society
Help with different surveys of varying complexity and time commitments. You can bird watch in your own backyard on the Backyard Winter Bird Survey. Or you can help spot eagles on Great Bay in the Winter Bald Eagle Survey (my family is involved with both of these projects). There are many opportunities to help.
Coast Research Volunteers
Coastal Research Volunteers are passionate about science and stewardship on the New Hampshire coast. Click the images on the UNH Sea Grant website to learn about their current endeavors and how you can get involved.
Citizen Science Opportunities from your phone
There are also some great apps to collect data for citizen science from your phone. My favorites are: ISeeChange, EarthChallenge 2020, and DebrisTracker.
Getting your kids into STEM has never been easier! With these citizen science opportunities, they’ll be busy learning in no time.
