All the good stuff that happened!

We at the Science Math Resource Center are fans of citizen science and are working to build a Citizen Science Network. We will be sending this occasional e-newsletter to share news and information about citizen science events and opportunities at MSU, in Montana and across the country. If you have an item to share, an idea for building the network, or a question, please contact the MSU Science Math Resource Center.

2022 MSU Citizen Science Year in Review

2022 was a wonderful year as we continue to grow the awareness and presence of citizen science at Montana State University and throughout our community and state. We are especially looking for ways to connect Montana citizens with the impacts of our university research and teaching. Below are a few highlights from the past year.


Watch for our January issue to see what's coming for 2023!

MSU interns excel in citizen science

Sierra Fisher-Dykman, a May 2022 MSU graduate in elementary education, special education and Spanish, presented on citizen science at the C*Sci 2022 annual conference, which was held virtually in May 2022. Sierra's work was presented as an article, a poster and live office hours. Sierra was an intern for the Science Math Resource Center before graduating and is currently a teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her session was on citizen science at Inclusive Community Camp.



Chloe Moreland, an MSU senior in microbiology & cell biology and English, received a $5,000 grant from the MSU Outreach & Engagement Council to expand citizen science in our community. Fall programming included partnerships with Eagle Mount in Bozeman. Spring programs will be designed for local schools and out-of-school programs. Chloe is a science communications intern for Montana NSF EPSCoR through the Science Math Resource Center. She is pictured above with Eagle Mount participant Jacob as they observed insects for the iNaturalist project.

Citizen science and youth

Citizen science was the theme of our activity table at MSU Family Science Day in February 2022. The annual event for local fifth graders is hosted by MSU Academic Technology & Outreach, and the SMRC table featured miniature kites from the NASA AREN project and a water filtration activity and related citizen science connections from MSU environmental engineer Erica Espinosa-Ortiz.

The Science Math Resource Center staff spent the day with 150 Bozeman sixth graders during Chief Joseph Middle School's annual Outdoor Days event held at Bozeman Ponds in September 2022.


Students scoured Bozeman Pond for the presence of micro-plastics and submitted their data to the EarthEcho Water Challenge, and uploaded geo-tagged photos of grasshoppers, spiders, pillbugs and other insects to iNaturalist.

Citizen Science at MSU

Graduate students working with their MSU Department of Education instructor Marcie Reuer learned about and then practiced citizen science during the Fall 2022 semester.


The students—most of whom will be future science teachers—went outside to observe trees, plants and insects near the MSU Duck Pond and then planted tomato seeds that had flown on the International Space Station for the Tomatosphere project.

The Aspiring Educators of MSU, a student club for future teachers, presented on citizen science at the Montana Federation of Public Employees conference in Helena in October 2022. Pictured is club officer B.J. Cross at the presentation.


Aspiring Educators is a professional network that also includes 25,000 members of MFPE, 3.2 million members of the National Education Association, and 1.2 million members of the American Federation of Teachers.

Spreading the word

During April 2022 -- Citizen Science Month -- the MSU Library prepared a book display for visitors.


The display was located in a prominent location near the entrance to the library and featured popular press books for both youth and adults as well as academic and research titles on community-based participatory research, participatory action research and science in society.

A poster called Broadening Participation through Citizen Science for Youth with Disabilities was accepted for the virtual national conference of ARIS - Advancing Research in Society - a professional organization that works with scientists and engagement practitioners to increase the impact of research in communities and society. 


View the poster on the ARIS conference website.

Check out more resources on our MSU Citizen Science Network page

This newsletter is brought to you by the MSU Science Math Resource Center with additional support from the NASA AEROKATS and ROVER Education Network (AREN) and Montana NSF EPSCoR