For several years, a European amateur science group was on the trail of dinosaur prints and last spring they made a significant discovery. Now authenticated by scientists at Lyon University and France's National Center for Scientific Research, the find is one of the largest and most well preserved prints from a sauropod estimated to be 150 million years old.

What's particularly exciting about this finding--in addition to the pure excitement from being able to directly witness the movements of our planet's once great giants--is that the possibility of important scientific progress coming from groups of amateurs and citizen scientists is so great. More organized citizen scientist groups must be developed around the world, and with this growth not only will scientific progress benefit, but the increased appreciation and understanding of science will begin to reach an even broader population.

For example, in the United States, the Society of Amateur Scientists is a national organization that will support the development of local and regional chapters, which is the absolute perfect opportunity for interested people to self-organize and generate some real science and generate some real science appreciation for the masses. Their current list of active local chapters is rather limited, but the time is ripe for growing local interest and regional society groups to become deeply involved in citizen science around the country.

In particular, this author is working on establishing a local chapter for the Central Illinois region, so if you are located in the area and would be interested in considering being a charter member of a new local chapter, please let me know.

Be inspired by the increasing number of successes of important results from citizen scientists and get more involved to see what wonderful science you may discover and experience.

So much science education happens in informal ways--outside of the classroom. These experiences can be so valuable and sometimes even more influential than the classic approaches taken for so long by the public school system of the American culture.

Successful informal educational opportunities can start right at home between parents and their children at the earliest ages. From simple questions to make a child think about what is happening around us to getting directly involved with exciting citizen science projects in our community, there are so many opportunities that can be presented to a young mind that can leave a lasting impression.

A growing focus on the importance of informal education is emerging, and citizen scientists can be on the forefront of this valuable movement. The National Academies Press has published materials on the issue, and is helping to create new studies and information on how informal educational approaches might be more thoroughly developed.

In their latest newsletter (subscribe), NAC featured an interesting survey of readers who had experiences as a child of a lasting memory of an informal educational experience. The following are some of their favorite responses...

"'My dad waking us all up at 2 a.m. on a freezing winter night to come out and see the Northern Lights; I was 4 years old and never forgot.'

'Studying pond water samples with a friend's microscope, drawing my observations, then going to the library to find the names of the microbes (amoeba, diatoms, etc.) during the summer between 3rd and 4th grade.'

'Making an electromagnet out of a piece of wire, a nail, and a battery.'

'The original Mr. Wizard television program set my future path toward science. Each episode presented scientific concepts through interesting and understandable demonstrations that, for the most part, the young viewer was encouraged to try at home. This was really exciting TV!'

'The first time I learned to mix baking soda and vinegar to make carbon dioxide and the resulting foam overflowed on to my parent's kitchen table.'

'A lifetime of interest came from my father's simple question: 'Why is it so hard to push this boat into the water?' 40 years later, I am still pursuing wave flows and resistance.'

'Sitting on the front porch with my father and siblings counting the seconds between the lightning flash and the thunder that followed. We estimated how far away the lightning strike was and learned math as well as science.'"

Each of these special memories should be an inspiration for parents and how we can contribute to positive informal science education every day. If you and your children have experienced meaningful informal science education moments--no matter how small--please tell us about it by posting a comment here on DPR AmSci Journal.

In a little more than two weeks, NASA will have an expensive hunk of metal slam into the Moon... the resulting plume will be closely observed in hopes to learn more about the possibility of the existence of water ice (read more and learn about how you can participate...). As the LCROSS vessel makes it way toward its impact site, NASA needs assistance with tracking due to its steep orbit; they only have brief and infrequent time frames to monitor the trajectory using their Deep Space Network of radio antennas.

So, who better to ask for more listening help than school kids from around the globe interacting remotely and on-site with the GAVRT program. Located in Apple Valley, California (view map), the antenna is a collaboration between the Lewis Center for Educational Research, NASA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Teachers from around the world, including home schoolers, may sign up for free through the Lewis Center's website and take part in their LCROSS curriculum. This is a wonderful opportunity for young science students to get hands-on experience in an important scientific field and to support NASA in a valuable way.

And if this program doesn't directly create excited new young scientists, then it should certainly help drive these students' personal interest and appreciation for science as they become vital and participating citizens in the future.

Experiencing interesting citizen science might come upon you unexpectedly in life, but it will surely have great rewards. Take a moment to read this inspiring story by a writer living in Southern California...

As a young child, Leslie spent several late summer nights dancing with and chasing back to sea a little fish called a Grunion. These odd little guys lay eggs on the beach and then have to flop their way back into the water after their mating ritual is complete. Leslie gained many fond memories of this childhood experience, and was interested again later in life when she stumbled upon an organized monitoring effort supported by Pepperdine University that established the "Grunion Greeters" to help learn about the animal's behavior.

Her official graduation to a "real" citizen scientist was actually a proud moment--as it should be!--and her excitement and new appreciation for our universe will spread to everyone she meets.

As a deeply interested individual in brain science and neurotechnology myself, this particular report has instantly inspired my own future plans for new directions in amateur research and citizen science at my own home.

Tim Marzullo, a recent PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, has been working on a project to develop a very low-cost amateur neurological recording device. Along with his friend, Greg Gage, they are nearing success on a prototype, and even presented their work at the recent Society of Neuroscience conference in Washington, D.C.

With a home-made micro-manipulator, a classic bandpass filter with amplifier, and a willing bug, they will soon be recording neuronal action potentials in their own garage for under $100.

In only a few days (or less), my wife and I will have our second child, a son named Andrew. I have a deep interest in the human brain as well as the underlying functions that give rise to what we consider human consciousness... a natural phenomenon that remains completely out of the range of current scientific explanation.

I hold the hypothesis that human beings actually develop consciousness well after delivery into this world, and that there is a transition into this higher functioning state. Starting with the birth of Andrew, I will work on a journal of observations to record his development in an attempt to identify this transitional process. Although these observations will be entirely subjective and experiential, I do anticipate that we might find just a glimpse into the development of this one infant human brain and how it interacts with and evolves in our world.

Follow along with the journal in Neuron News from Dynamic Patterns under the Topical Category "Raising Consciousness," and let me know what you think as well as provide me with any guidance or suggestions you might have during my observational experiment.

A thorough guide created by past directors at the Great Smokey Mountains Institute at Tremont and published by the Association of Nature Center Administrators is a wonderful resource for program leaders around the world who are interested in developing new and improving existing citizen science projects.

In addition, this guide will prove to be useful for the individual amateur researcher to help organize personal projects and stimulate ideas for getting involved within the community and even within ones own backyard.

A partial version is available for download below (16 pages of 88), and the complete document may be purchased for $20 directly from the ANCA.

"The Director's Guide to Best Practices in Citizen Science" :: Copyright 2007 :: [ DOWNLOAD ]

So, it might be less frightful and more magical, but the planets will be aligned this Halloween night for a great show for all of the trick-or-treaters and their parents. Be sure to look up toward the sunset this Friday evening -- in between doorbell rings and candy looting -- to witness a fantastic early evening alignment of the crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter.

More great Moon-planet alignments will be visible over the next month, and you can read more about these great observing and photographing opportunities with the article below...

A research collaboration from Intel Research Berkeley is currently beta testing mounted air quality sensors on the Street Sweepers in San Francisco to map out pollution levels throughout the city.

After successful results from this test, the program could then spread to other cities where pollution is a serious problem. With detailed spacial urban maps of air quality variations, city officials might then be able to really get a handle on primary sources of pollution and determine solutions for improving the urban atmosphere.

The research team is also proposing a next-generation version of this project, which would provide higher-resolution data and would involve a massive citizen science effort... including anyone with a cell phone. With air monitoring devices built into personal mobile devices that also contain GPS tracking software, real-time, continuous air sampling data can be transmitted to scientist's databases. Live current conditions could also be provided back to the user, so people with asthma or other sensitive respiratory systems could consider avoiding parts of the city that was experiencing a "bad pollution day."

Future research programs into "urban informatics" will ultimately rely on citizen science participation, and it's exciting that Intel will likely be on the forefront of these efforts. Check out the research proposal linked below, sign up for their mailing list, and keep a watch on future opportunities to turn your cell phone into an ultimate data collecting device!

The classic "evening star", Venus (more), is now beginning to make its twinkling debut, and will be a beautiful sparkle to watch throughout the Fall and Winter seasons. Extremely visible to the unaided eye, Venus is a great celestial object for novice sky-watchers to begin learning how to track and enjoy observing the night sky.

Joe Rao, writing for Space.com, provides a nice overview of the Venus experience for 2008-2009... so, grab your binoculars, telescope, or just your family for an evening stroll through the neighborhood and check out the twinkle of Venus this Fall.

As previously reported in the DPRI AmSci Journal (read), this year's Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting had an wonderfully fresh emphasis on the opportunities for and importance of citizen science.

A professional in the field, Nalini Nadkarni, wrote a nice commentary for The Olympian that describes the new, broad applications for amateur research. The author also remarks on the absolutely critical task of scientists to work toward bring a wider understanding of how our universe functions to a larger audience.

We feel at DPRI that this is a fundamental need, and we're so excited to see more professional researchers (who are often so buried in their instruments that go "ping!") are taking seriously the need to bring their work to the masses. This is why we are trying to support citizen science opportunities and are working to bring more people into the world of science... we don't expect everyone to delve so deep into science that it overtakes their lives, but just enough to increase our appreciation of our amazing universe and to have a bit more understanding of how things really work.

The AmSci Journal has reported on plenty of wonderful citizen science projects from watching fireflies to monitoring plant growth in your own backyard, but now this is some serious amateur research... build your own fusion reactor.

Harnessing the power of nuclear fusion--forcing two or more atoms together so close that they join to create a new, heavier nucleus, and release a ton of energy at the same time--has been the holy grail in nuclear energy research since the 1950s... after uncontrolled nuclear fusion was used to create the powerful hydrogen bomb. Fusion is the process that powers the stars in our universe, and it does not result in piles of radioactive waste that will take eons to decay. So, if nuclear fusion can be generated in the lab and the released energy efficiently exported, then energy for civilian usage could become incredibly cheaper and infinitely safer for our environment.

This noble task has been taken on by a close-knit group of nearly one hundred amateur scientists around the world, many of whom have already built at least one version of a fusion reactor in their home laboratory (i.e., basement, attic, or garage).

Read the following story on Kit Hull and Frank Sanns featured in The Wall Street Journal, and see how amazing the amateur research community can be.

And check out some of the efforts from the "big boys"...

Rise up all ye amateur scientists and join the revolution that is just beginning! A little dramatic to be sure, but right before our very eyes is an evolving wave of collective, nearly self-organized, efforts in discovery for scientific principles, mapping in natural habitats, and even individual consumer behavior.

Crowdsourcing is the notion where a large, undefined group of individuals collectively contribute to the solution of an "open call." This idea is beginning to be used by more organizations, from those who sell t-shirts to those who are searching for life in the cosmos.

The growing realization that the masses can be useful is only a boon to those who are interesting in doing real science, but are not directly implanted into the deep academic universe. There are many endeavors that require a great deal of data collection, often over vast geographical regions ,where a small team of scientists--let alone a single researcher--could never reach the the individual capabilities required to complete the task at hand. Here is where the citizen scientist comes into play: an individual who has a sincere desire and interest to learn something new and contribute meaningful information to a larger scientific program is an asset to the professional scientist with unmeasured value.

These collective efforts will not only act to drive the individual success of some academic higher into the ranks of the University (although, it will certainly help!), but they will provide critical information for a broader understanding of our universe (locally and throughout the galaxy). And -- possibly, more importantly -- these personal efforts as an amateur researcher offer grand enjoyment and education for oneself and an entire family, if the kids are allowed to join in the discovery process (and they most certainly should be a part of the experience!)

The following video clip is only a plug to present the new book by Jeff Howe called "Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business." This author has not yet read the book--it's released at the end of this month--but, it will certainly be on my short wish list for books to read by the end of the year. The video is clearly developed by a small production team and not a result of crowdsourcing efforts, but none-the-less, if does provide a great overview of the potentials and an interesting view into the future of crowdsourcing.

The role of the citizen scientist continues to grow into a new, profound tool for the scientific community. This realization from the academic world is once again made apparent by a new Job Posting from the University of Oxford's Department of Physics.

They are in search of not one, but two, postdoctoral associates to lead the development of new research programs that utilized citizen scientists in data collection. Most of this inspiration is stemming from another Oxford-lead program, GalaxyZoo, which is continuing to reap successful results from their world-wide community approach.

So, as a citizen scientists, it's time to really jump on the bandwagon. It's always a win-win ... the academic world gets tons of free data, that's reasonably reliable, and we get to be part of something important ... and have a whole lot of fun with the experience.

The DPRI AmSci Journal does focus on reporting great opportunities to do real research as a citizen scientist. But, we cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your eyes open at any moment for the science discovery that might present itself just to you. It might not be a profound discovery never seen by any other human being, but it might still be intriguing, inspirational, and breathtaking.

In fact, we're starting a new category called "Inspiring Citizen Science" to present how others experience great personal moments in science discovery--large and small--and how you might be inspired to enjoy exploring as a citizen scientist.

Please read the following post from a woman who has moved out into the wilderness to start a new life, and be inspired by her openness to interact with the world around her...

If you have a personal science experience that you would like to share with the other readers of the DPRI AmSci Journal, please submit your story to the publisher or post your own Citizen Science Public Journal Report.

Be inspired to experience science when it's least expected.

This featured article has nothing to do with wonderful and exciting citizen science projects searching for the answers to major research questions; it doesn't announce the successful achievements of an amateur for a great scientific discovery.

But, it does remind us that simple--yet profound and beautiful--scientific experiences can happen to every one of us at nearly any point in time. We must only be open to the opportunity and ready to take in a few observations of the amazing universe in which we live... and enjoy it. Simply enjoy it. This is the essence of everyday citizen science, and it should be enjoyed by everyone on the planet as often as possible.

Read as the author has a "bad day" and heads to the forest looking for a little relaxation. What she finds is nature at its best and most amazing, and is inspired to tell everyone to come out an join her.