Do you dream about being a scientist and doing real science? Well, the good news is that you can, even if you’re still in school and haven’t studied science at university (yet).

You can participate in any number of citizen science projects, and provide valuable data to scientists for their research. Citizen science is a type of science where everyday people make observations and collect data for scientific research.

Frog ID
One of my favourites is Frog ID, which is a research project run by the Australian Museum. This is a nation-wide citizen science project which helps scientists monitor frogs and frog distribution. People all around Australia record frog calls using the free FrogID app, and then submit them to the FrogID team. They use your recording to identify the frog species and then use that data to find out if that particular frog species is thriving or struggling. The location data provided by your smartphone enables the scientists to accurately map the distribution of frog species too. Recording frog calls does not disturb or harm the frogs, like catching them can, so it is a good way of identifying what they are.

To make things fun, there is a leader-board for individuals and teams who have recorded and submitted the most calls. The current leader has submitted over 15 000 frog call recordings. To date, 798 026 frog call recordings have been submitted to FrogID, 1.2 million frogs have been verified and 231 species have been found.

To participate in FrogID you will need to your parent or carer to download the app onto their smartphone and make an account. Then every time you hear a frog, hit record and then submit. You will get a nice email back from the team telling you what species of frog you have found, so you can learn to recognise their calls too.

For more information, see the FrogID website: https://www.frogid.net.au/

Great Aussie Bird Count
If frogs are not your thing, maybe you would find counting birds more fun. Every year, during bird week, BirdLife Australia runs the Great Aussie Birdcount.

Held every October, the Great Aussie Birdcount encourages Australians to get outdoors with their binoculars and identify all the birds they can in the space of 20 minutes. You can do it in your backyard, walking the neighbourhood or on a bushwalk – basically wherever you are likely to see a bird.

Once again, you will need your parent or carer to download the Aussie Bird Count app, then head to your favourite bird watching spot and start identifying the birds. You can log them in the app – species and number seen (if there’s lots, give your best approximation).

In 2024, more than 57 000 participants counted 4.1 million birds. 677 schools also participated in the bird count. The colourful and cheeky Rainbow Lorikeet took first prize for the most numerous bird in Australia that week, Noisy Miners came second with the Australian Magpie in third place. Check out the Great Aussie Bird Count website for more interesting statistics. Which bird came first in your state?

For more information, or to register for the bird count in October, see https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/ . There are quizzes and games, and resources for teachers on the website.

Fossils, Fish and Farts
The Australian Museum has a number of citizen science projects you can participate in, including helping to digitise their collection, identifying fishes and dating fossils. For more information, head to https://australian.museum/get-involved/citizen-science/

The CSIRO also has a number of citizen science projects, including Chart Your Fart – where you can provide data to scientists on the frequency, loudness and – well yes – smelliness of your farts. If that’s not for you, why not consider taking part in the Great Eggcase Hunt, lodging shark eggcases you find on the beach, or you could monitor air or water quality or global plastic pollution. Head to https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/citizen-science/Projects and get involved.

By Julia, Schools Liaison and Booking Officer for UNE Discovery. Even though my studies ended up taking me in the direction of European literature, I have always loved science, especially biology and zoology. When I’m not booking schools for visits from UNE Discovery Voyager, I can be found in my garden, growing vegies and native Australian plants, in the bush watching birds or recording frogs.

Young citizen scientists participating in The Great Eggcase Hunt (Photo CSIRO https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/citizen-science/Projects)

2024 results of Great Aussie Bird Count (Infographic BirdLife Australia https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/2024-results/)