Enrichment · STEM Explorations

Your counts,
in real research.

Bird counts, rain gauges, cloud photos and galaxy sorting all feed research that scientists publish. The data is only useful if every observation follows the project’s protocol, so write it in your own words, log every observation, zeros included, and check that each one reached the project. The organizer flags what is still unsubmitted.

Add a projectWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the STEM explorations set, $49 for 9 items.

Your projects

The worked example is made up: a student’s backyard bird counts for eBird, four 15-minute counts with a zero on the day a hawk circled, and one count not yet submitted. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · STEM Explorations$5

What you finish with
A record per project with platform, research question, what counts as an observation and the protocol in your words; six setup steps; an observation log with date, general place, count, notes and submission; patterns you noticed and a question of your own. Flags unsubmitted observations and setup steps not done; totals observations, counts and submissions.
Who it is for
Students and families joining citizen science projects, and the teachers and club leaders who run them as a class.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per project. Prints a project with its log, every project as a table or a blank field sheet to carry outside; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the STEM explorations set ($49) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The STEM Explorations space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick a project and read its protocol start to finish.
  2. Do its tutorial, and set up the account with a parent if you are under 13.
  3. Write the protocol in your own words so you follow it the same way each time.
  4. Log every observation, zeros included, and submit each one.
  5. Look for a pattern, and write a question of your own.

Add a project

Where it goes

Where your observation goes1Youobserve by theprotocol2The projectchecks and poolsit3Scientistsmap, model,publish4Everyoneopen data, newquestionsOne count is small. Thousands of counts by the same protocol show patterns no singlescientist could see.Where your observation goesYouobserve by the protocolThe projectchecks and pools itScientistsmap, model, publishEveryoneopen data, new questionsOne count is small. Thousands of countsby the same protocol show patterns nosingle scientist could see.
Following the protocol exactly is what lets your count sit beside thousands of others.

Privacy outdoors

Observations carry a time and a place. Post from a park or a general area rather than your exact home, use the platform’s setting to blur or hide locations, and never post photos of people you do not know. Under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, sites collecting personal information from children under 13 need a parent’s consent, so many projects ask a parent to set up the account.

Finding a project

CitizenScience.gov lists projects run with federal agencies. Popular ones include eBird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, iNaturalist for any living thing, NASA’s GLOBE Observer for clouds and land cover, the CoCoRaHS rain gauge network and Zooniverse, where you classify images online.

Sources

  1. U.S. General Services Administration. CitizenScience.gov: federal crowdsourcing and citizen science catalog.
  2. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. eBird: how to submit complete checklists (ebird.org).
  3. NASA. GLOBE Observer (observer.globe.gov); and the CoCoRaHS network (cocorahs.org).
  4. Federal Trade Commission. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (ftc.gov).

The worked example is made up. Each project sets its own protocol and account rules; follow them. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat; submit observations through the project itself. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.