Abstract

For the North American solar eclipses in 2023 and 2024, SciStarter partnered with two NASA-supported participatory science projects: Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketchers. These partnerships benefited all parties involved by enhancing outreach and recruitment efforts. The collaborations outlined here could help guide the future engagement strategies of other projects.

1. Introduction

Organizers of participatory science projects (sometimes known as citizen science or volunteer science projects) are often faced with the challenge of balancing their science and outreach goals. Partnerships with organizations like SciStarter1, which connect prospective volunteers to participatory science projects, can support and amplify outreach efforts, significantly enhancing project organizers' ability to reach a broader audience.

For the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse and 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, two NASA-supported eclipse-themed participatory science projects — The Eclipse Soundscapes Project and SunSketcher — partnered with SciStarter. Through ongoing communication, personalized support, intentional collaboration, and a process of iteration and sharing results, SciStarter facilitated effective recruitment, participation, and data collection. This approach ultimately amplified the impact of both projects, boosting project participation and demonstrating the value of facilitators in increasing community engagement and fostering long-term involvement in participatory science.

This essay outlines how these successful partnerships were achieved and provides insights to guide future collaborations between projects and facilitators to maximize participant engagement.

2. SciStarter as a Community Engagement Facilitator

SciStarter is an organization and research affiliate of the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University that facilitates connections between people and participatory science projects. Supported by federal agencies, universities, private foundations, and private companies, SciStarter offers free access to a large searchable database of projects and events, virtual and in-person training, curated experiences, micro-credentials, and personalized data dashboards to track participation and earn credit for engagement in projects across websites and apps. A dynamic database of projects is searchable by location, age level, topic, and other filters on the Project Finder.

In addition to the Project Finder, SciStarter creates specialized and often cobranded webpages featuring a selection of curated projects with step-by-step instructions, training modules, webinars, a forum, and data analytics to measure and support participants’ progress. Unlike the main landing pages of SciStarter, these “microsites” (relational sets of webpages) are tailored toward themes, interests, and/or specific communities. 

For example, the Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) contracted SciStarter to create a microsite for Girl Scouts and volunteer troop leaders to learn about citizen science, complete a set of projects, and access supplemental activities all related to the Girl Scouts Outdoor STEM badges. SciStarter provides analytics to help GSUSA measure collective impact nationally, regionally, and locally as well as across all the projects featured on the microsite. 

As another example, Verizon contracted SciStarter to create a microsite to facilitate virtual training and support engagement, and to measure the collective impact of their corporate volunteer program. 

Table 1: Different microsites on SciStarter.

Haley Smith and her colleagues from North Carolina State University, Caren Cooper and Lincoln Larson, studied SciStarter’s role as a facilitator and analyzed participation data from SciStarter’s customized microsites, such as those summarized above. They reported that “structured engagement through a facilitator may not only bring new audiences to citizen science but also may lead to greater learning impacts” (Smith, Cooper, & Larson, 2024).

A word about the SciStarter Affiliate Program:

SciStarter affiliate projects use APIs (Application Programming Interface) and other digital data-sharing protocols to report to SciStarter when a SciStarter member has participated in a project. Automated reports include the date and time of the participation and the project’s unique identification number. The participant’s identity is obscured and this process is transparent and optional.

When a SciStarter member contributes to a SciStarter Affiliate project, their participation is recorded on their personal dashboard, allowing them to see their impact over time and across projects, and to provide proof of volunteer service.  

Cait Bailey, the co-creator and systems developer of the citizen science platform Anecdata, began using the SciStarter API in 2019. Bailey said: “Not only is [the API] useful for our participants who use SciStarter and want to see their participation stats, it’s also useful for project managers who run projects through Anecdata and want to assess their volunteers’ contributions and understand what other projects their volunteers are engaged in” (SciStarter, n.d.).

Affiliate project leaders have enhanced stats on their SciStarter project page dashboard to see how often people engage with their project relative to other projects listed on SciStarter. Understanding related interests among participants can help project leaders refine volunteer recruitment and support strategies. 

Affiliate projects also have access to the SciStarter People Finder to target recruitment among the SciStarter community based on volunteers’ location and experiences. SciStarter Affiliates are eligible to be included in Lists, a digital tool for participants and facilitators to create and curate their own lists of projects and share them with others. Finally, affiliates are eligible for inclusion in SciStarter’s promotional campaigns, aimed at building awareness of and engagement in participatory research projects twice a month, SciStarter’s communications team designs and distributes a themed campaign to promote projects and outcomes across its outreach platform which includes: a blog on DiscoverMagazine.com, emails/newsletters distributed to more than 325,000 recipients (as of October 2024), a podcast, social media, and SciStarter LIVE events on Zoom and streamed to Facebook. SciStarter’s Citizen and Community Science Library Network (composed of more than 1,000 public libraries serving as community hubs for citizen science) also helps promote affiliate projects and engage communities in projects. 

SciStarter’s Eclipse Themed Programming

With support from NASA Citizen Science, SciStarter organizes an ongoing series of virtual events under the banner of “Do NASA Science LIVE,” and a companion microsite to recruit, train, and support participants in NASA’s suite of citizen science projects (see www.SciStarter.org/NASA-LIVE). Between September 2023 and April 2024, the series focused primarily on eclipse-related projects leading up to and during the annular solar eclipse in September 2023 and the total solar eclipse in April 2024. The goal was to help the public learn about the North American eclipses, what was being researched, and how members of the public could be involved in the research. To support that focus, SciStarter created an eclipse-themed microsite (see www.SciStarter.org/eclipse) and hosted webinars. The first webinar took place on September 19, 2023, to prepare people for the October 2023 Annular Eclipse. SciStarter followed up with three additional informal webinars.

As part of Do NASA Science LIVE and the specialized eclipse-themed microsite on SciStarter, NASA connected SciStarter to NASA-supported eclipse citizen science project teams. The Eclipse Soundscapes Project and SunSketcher quickly expressed interest in becoming SciStarter Affiliates and were soon onboarded and digitally connected as affiliates. 

4. What is the Eclipse Soundscapes Project?

The Eclipse Soundscapes Project invited the general public to help answer scientific questions about how the October 13, 2023, annular solar eclipse and the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse impacted life on Earth. Leading up to the eclipse, the public was invited to participate in three distinct Eclipse Soundscapes roles: Apprentice, Observer, and Data Collector. Participants could choose to complete all three roles or just a selection.

The Eclipse Soundscapes Apprentice role focused on a series of free, online lessons where participants could learn about eclipses. Participants were asked to complete the Apprentice role before moving on to other Eclipse Soundscapes roles. However, the Apprentice role could also be completed on its own as an educational enhancement opportunity. 

The Eclipse Soundscapes Observer role invited participants to use all of their senses – sight, sound, touch, etc. – to observe the solar eclipses and submit their findings to the ES team via a web form.

The Eclipse Soundscapes Data Collector role prompted participants to collect audio data during the week of the solar eclipse using an AudioMoth recording device and then mail in the audio data on a MicroSD card to the ES team. 

5. What is SunSketcher?

The SunSketcher program had both an outreach goal and a “hard science” goal: to use precise timing of the Baily’s Beads at second and third contacts, together with a precise map of the lunar limb from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) satellite, to determine the shape of the Sun to an unprecedented accuracy of a few kilometers. 

Participants helped collect data with a smartphone app, offered for free on both the Apple App Store and Android Google Play site.

Participants collected smartphone images paired with phone location and precise timing of the Baily’s Beads extinctions. With a GPS location accuracy of less than 10 m and a timing accuracy down to 1 ms, these images will help SunSketcher determine the shape of the solar disk to an accuracy of about 5 km (a few parts per million).

The broader project outreach involved making the app widely available through an extensive web and social media publicity campaign. Participants were rewarded for their efforts by learning, through the app, about the scientific goals of the project and how their data would make a unique contribution to the study.

6. How The Project Collaborations Were Formed and Fostered

In March of 2023, SciStarter reached out to the Eclipse Soundscapes team to discuss adding the Eclipse Soundscapes Project roles to the SciStarter database for the SciStarter community to discover. The roles were published later that month. Additionally, the Eclipse Soundscapes team attended the in-person SciStarter workshop at the American Association for Participatory Sciences conference in May 2023. The workshop ensured participatory science projects were using the SciStarter platform to the fullest and provided more explanation and support for its affiliate program.

The SunSketcher partnership originated independently of these activities and received some support from the NASA Heliophysics Innovation in Technology and Science (HITS) program in 2023-2024. Based on a recommendation from NASA, the SunSketcher team contacted SciStarter in late 2023 to discuss partnerships and opportunities for broader outreach.

Key Takeaway: The Importance of Personalized Support

As online community hubs like SciStarter become larger and more robust, it’s crucial for projects to have opportunities for personal connections and support to successfully collaborate with facilitators, especially regarding technical integration. 

SciStarter supported both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher in becoming affiliate projects by providing clear, detailed instructions on its website for projects to complete the process autonomously. While the instructions were straightforward, the Eclipse Soundscapes team had some questions about setting up the API to link Eclipse Soundscapes participant roles to the SciStarter platform. 

The SciStarter team provided one-on-one support and direct API coding assistance until the issue was resolved, demonstrating how important personalized assistance can be. This combination of autonomy for those who don’t need extra support, combined with personalized assistance, proved highly effective for Eclipse Soundscapes. 

How SciStarter’s Eclipse Campaign Supported and Amplified Eclipse Soundscapes’ & SunSketcher’s Reach

In addition to producing eclipse citizen science promotional campaigns and a microsite for both the 2023 and 2024 eclipses, SciStarter made a point of thoroughly understanding both projects and maintaining ongoing communication. This communication allowed SciStarter to provide tailored support to each project.  

For example, when SunSketcher faced a logistical challenge with its outreach, SciStarter stepped in, using its established infrastructure to distribute newsletters on SunSketcher's behalf. Visitors to the SunSketcher website were encouraged to sign up for periodic newsletter updates by providing voluntary contact information. This call to action was unexpectedly successful, with the number of subscribers surpassing 10,000. Since SunSketcher did not have the infrastructure to send emails to over 10,000 people, SunSketcher and SciStarter teamed up to send the newsletters through SciStarter’s newsletter distribution system. All messages were drafted by the SunSketcher team and sent out via SciStarter’s Constant Contact platform.

For Eclipse Soundscapes, SciStarter’s in-depth understanding of the three distinct participation roles allowed for effective facilitation. Eclipse Soundscapes needed to recruit volunteers for their roles and prepare participants to report data in an accurate and timely manner. Through its campaigns, SciStarter provided clear descriptions of each role and encouraged libraries in its network to help their communities sign up for the role that best met their needs.

Recognizing both projects’ need to reach new participants, as well as the SciStarter’s community’s desire to discover engaging volunteer science opportunities, SciStarter effectively packaged these projects into a timely and relevant campaign, creating a win-win situation. Given that each project was focused on achieving its scientific goals under tight unmoving timelines, this recruitment and facilitation support from SciStarter was hugely beneficial. 

2023 Annular Eclipse Campaign

In preparation for the 2023 annular eclipse, SciStarter promoted the Eclipse Soundscapes Project and SunSketcher through newsletters, social media, and blog posts. These efforts culminated in inviting both projects to participate in the “Do NASA Science LIVE!” online event in September 2023, held via Zoom and streamed to NASA Now’s Virtual Exhibit and YouTube. This event introduced the projects to a global audience.

Event Impact Summary

Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher project leaders, surveyed after the event, agreed that their participation in the event helped spread awareness about their project and increased participation in the project. Eclipse Soundscapes, for example, experienced 2,145 page views (cumulative based on three project pages on SciStarter) in connection with the event. In addition, 660 new users visited EclipseSoundscapes.org between September 19th and 21st, resulting in 60 new email subscribers. 

SunSketcher saw 1,262 page views on SciStarter. Furthermore, project leaders communicated that their participation gave them insight into the experience of volunteers. This insight can help projects update their protocols to better match their volunteers’ needs. 

2024 Total Solar Eclipse Campaign

2024 Webinar

In April 2024, SciStarter launched the #OneMillionActsOfScience campaign as part of Citizen Science Month. This initiative encouraged people to engage in citizen science by contributing to projects or attending events. The 2024 campaign centered on the total solar eclipse, featuring Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher in blog posts, social media shoutouts, and the Do NASA Science LIVE! webinar held on March 26, 2024. This conversational, informal webinar highlighted three NASA Citizen Science projects: SunSketcher, GLOBE Observer: Eclipse, and Eclipse Soundscapes. The event attracted 241 registrations and garnered 121 YouTube views. 

The success of the Do NASA Science LIVE! webinars was enhanced by SciStarter’s thorough preparation and follow-up, which included:

• Conducting practice sessions with speakers

• Providing a slide template to ensure clear and concise presentations

• Enforcing short speaking time limits

• Assigning a dedicated Zoom chat moderator

SciStarter followed up with both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher to measure the impact of the webinar through web visits and newsletter sign-ups. This structured approach proved to be an effective model for collaborative webinars designed to promote multiple projects.

During the lead-up and participation period for the total solar eclipse (March-May 2024), both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher saw significant engagement on SciStarter:

In particular, Eclipse Soundscapes experienced a notable surge in web traffic:

• 12,000 new users visited EclipseSoundscapes.org from March 26-28, with 3,500 visits on March 26 alone

• 640 new email subscribers joined, including 225 on March 26

The following table captures cumulative data for Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher on SciStarter, including project page views, clicks to the project websites, SciStarter member “joins,” and “contributions” (observations recorded during the eclipses).

Both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher actively engaged their participants through newsletters and social media. They provided clear instructions on how participants could receive credit in SciStarter when completing their eclipse-related activities, allowing the project teams to track contributions from the SciStarter community and analyze volunteer behavior.

SunSketcher further engaged participants by showing them the images their phones captured during the eclipse. Participants were asked for permission to upload these images and invited to record their experience as part of the #OneMillionActsOfScience campaign, enhancing the collective impact of the projects.

Some 40,000 users adopted the SunSketcher app and used their smartphones for eclipse observations. As shown in the map below, these users were distributed all along the eclipse path.

Results and Benefits of Partnership

The benefits of these partnerships included increased project participation (for both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher), engaging content for users (for SciStarter), a better participant experience (for all teams), and the creation of new participatory science projects like the DarkSky Missouri AudioMoths initiative. 

Increased Project Participation

Participation in the Eclipse Soundscapes Project benefited significantly from SciStarter's listing and promotion. The table below highlights the increase in participation between the 2023 annular eclipse and the 2024 total solar eclipse:

This surge in participation demonstrates the effectiveness of SciStarter’s cross-promotion. At least 458 participants in 2024 were registered SciStarter members, indicating that the platform had an impact in connecting users to meaningful citizen science opportunities.

The SunSketcher database is open-access, allowing users to contribute their observations via the SunSketcher website. Initial analysis of the data suggests a rich scientific return, but it requires ongoing detailed work. The project may extend to crowdsourcing platforms like Zooniverse to further optimize algorithm development and maximize the potential of the collected data.

Shared Content

For the SciStarter team, the partnerships with Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher provided a wealth of eclipse-related content that could be leveraged amidst the heightened interest in the 2024 total solar eclipse. This included webinars and frequent communication to enhance newsletters, the interactive April (Citizen Science Month) calendar, and more. 

Both Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher contributed SME knowledge and team member appearances to SciStarter events like the April 9, 2024 NASA Eclipse Science Debrief. 

An Enhanced Participant Experience

Most importantly, this collaboration helped Eclipse Soundscapes, SunSketcher, and SciStarter accomplish their mutual goal of boosting engagement in participatory science. The experience of Eclipse Soundscapes and SunSketcher participants was enhanced by the ability to earn a tangible achievement in the form of SciStarter credits. The SciStarter platform also provided participants with the opportunity to discover other projects and continue their involvement in science. 

To give an inspiring example, SciStarter ambassador Don Ficken discovered Eclipse Soundscapes through SciStarter and participated as an Eclipse Soundscapes Data Collector. His interest in the AudioMoth recorders used for that role led him to stay involved in the Eclipse Soundscapes community. He later reached out to Eclipse Soundscapes with an idea for a project, received donated AudioMoths, and is now piloting a participatory science initiative using the equipment.

7. Conclusion

The partnership between SciStarter, Eclipse Soundscapes, and SunSketcher demonstrates how collaborations between citizen science projects and facilitators can boost participation and enhance the overall participant experience. SciStarter’s ability to amplify the visibility of both projects through promotion across its platform, newsletters, and webinars enabled these projects to reach new audiences, including librarians with a broad community reach. This underscores the power of leveraging established platforms to engage wider audiences.

Beyond increasing participation, these partnerships can greatly enhance the volunteer experience. Through seamless integration with SciStarter, participants were able to easily track their contributions, earn credits, and explore other citizen science opportunities. This streamlined and rewarding experience encourages long-term engagement.

Co-created content, such as webinars and educational materials, also enriched the participant experience by deepening their understanding of the science behind the projects. This type of shared content drives greater engagement and builds stronger, more meaningful connections between participants and the projects they support.

The success of this collaboration also highlights the importance of personalized support. SciStarter provided essential technical assistance to help the projects manage increased participation and ensure smooth API integration. This level of tailored support, combined with the flexibility for projects to operate autonomously, demonstrates how facilitators can play a vital role in helping projects maximize their potential.

In conclusion, partnerships like these not only help participatory science projects grow but also enhance the participant journey, making engagement more accessible, rewarding, and impactful. These collaborative approaches serve as a strong model for future participatory science efforts, showing how facilitators and projects can work together to increase reach and improve volunteer experiences.