Citizen science involves public participation and collaboration in scientific research with the aim to increase and translate scientific knowledge. It’s a great way to harness community skills and passion to fuel our ability to understand how the world works and how to protect it.  

 

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Click here to download a PDF copy of the rules for Citizen Science.  

Click here to download the Citizen Science project checklist.

Click here to download a copy of the judging rubric.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the Citizen Science Project Registration Form.

Science needs more eyes, brains, ears and perspectives than any scientist possesses. Many great discoveries are the result of a collaboration between scientists and the community including the discovery of the Wollemi pine, a giant shark tooth, the giant Gippsland earthworm as well as new planets and a lost space craft.

    • This category is aimed at involving whole classes or school groups in meaningful citizen science projects.
      • Two prizes of $500 each will be awarded to the winning entry from a Primary (R-6) group and Secondary (7-12) group.

Key Dates

Friday 6 June - Sunday 29 June 2025 - Citizen Science entry submitted online

    • The project can be one that you have designed yourself or an existing citizen science project that you take part in. Think about not only what type of citizen science project your students would like to try, but also what types of projects are feasible for them to do, based on where the school is located and what you’re able to do in your classroom or your school environment, what equipment you will need and reseachers you could collaborate with.

ENTRY FEE: Citizen Science group entries will be charged at $24.00 per entry (no discounts apply)

All Citizen Science entries must be registered at the same time as all other entries (no later than Sunday 18 May 2025).

A successful SASTA Oliphant Science Awards Citizen Science entry:

  • Will effectively communicate the process of citizen science project design to gather data on a real world problem.
  • Will run a small scale project (pilot study) or participate in a defined way in an existing project.
  • Provide a report of the findings and demonstrate how and by whom the data could be used to help solve the problem. If the timeframe isn’t long enough to gather enough data, a plan of how it would be reported is sufficient. 

Rules for Citizen Science Project:

The entry must include a project journal which includes:

  • Background information on the citizen science project, including what questions are being asked and why you thought citizen science could help answer the question.
  • Why you chose that particular project.
  • What steps you followed to participate in the project. For example, did you contact any science professionals to help?
  • What type(s) of data you were collecting and how they will help answer the research questions being asked. (Include data summary)
  • Anything interesting you saw in the data you were collecting
  • Your findings/conclusions from participating in a citizen science project
  • Discuss relevance and impact of the results or project (e.g. for existing policy)
  • Future directions and potential of this area of research? 
  • Word Count:
    • Year R–6: do not exceed 1000 words;
    • Year 7-12: do not exceed 2000 words.

In presenting your Citizen Science entry (online submission ONLY):

The following documents will need to be uploaded for your project:

  • Cover sheet with your Project ID details (the Coordinator will have access to this)
  • Electronic copy of your Citizen Science journal entry.
  • Entries will be accepted as PDF or Word documents only. We cannot guarantee judges will be able to access any other file types.
  • For full details on electronic submission, see: https://bit.ly/OSAOnlineSubmission

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