Caroline Nickerson, PhD

The third Wednesday in January marks the iconic #MuseumSelfie Day each year, and in 2026 it falls on January 21. Created by @MarDixon, a visionary in cultural engagement (and sister of SciStarter founder Darlene Cavalier), #MuseumSelfie Day began in 2014 as a playful rebellion against traditional museum etiquette. At a time when institutions were hesitant to embrace photography—and certainly scoffed at selfies—Mar flipped the script, encouraging people to take and share selfies in museums to build personal connections with culture. Today, people and institutions around the world embrace #MuseumSelfie Day, reinforcing Mar’s belief that museums should belong to everyone. Even after her passing in March 2024, her influence continues to ripple across the cultural world. We invite you to join the fun this #MuseumSelfie Day (and tag @SciStarter in your fabulous photos!) 📸🏛️ In our first January newsletter, we celebrate #MuseumSelfie Day by spotlighting some of our favorite art, natural history, and museum-centric citizen science projects: 🎨 ArtSpots (@spotteron) – Map street art, architecture, and public creativity 🗂️ @smithsonian Transcription Center – Help organize “America’s Attic” 🌊 BiodivAquArt – Track marine life through art history 🌿 Notes from Nature (@the_zooniverse) – Digitize museum and herbarium collections 🦴 FossilFinder – Share fossil discoveries from museum collections and beyond Whether you’re visiting a museum in person or exploring from home, there’s always a way to turn curiosity into real research. 🔗 Read the newsletter: conta.cc/3Zd7aF8 📸 Tomorrow: post your #MuseumSelfie Day pics and tag @SciStarter! #CitizenScience #MuseumsForAll #ArtAndScience #SciStarter #MuseumSelfie Day

The EMERGE NASA Data Hackathon on January 31 from 8 AM - 8 PM at Marston Science Library will bring together Gators and community members alike to work with real GLOBE Observer data on mosquito risk and environmental health. All skill levels welcome. geoemerge.com/nasa-at-uf/

Join us for Chengyu for Change—a bilingual art workshop + zine launch exploring ecological wisdom! 📅 Dec 4 | 5:30–7:15 PM 📍 Miami Beach Regional Library Register: mdpls.org/event/15047877 Featuring art inspired by Chengyu (成语) 50 free environmental zines for Art Basel week!

🧠✨ SciStarter LIVE: Alzheimer’s Month Catchathon ✨🧠 📅 When: September 30, 2025 | 2:00–3:00 PM EDT 🌍 Where: Anywhere on the planet (online!) 🎥 Presented by: SciStarter & @hcinst Let’s close out Alzheimer’s Awareness Month together! Join us for a LIVE Catchathon on Zoom and do Alzheimer’s research from home. Stall Catchers (@SciCatchers), created by the Human Computation Institute, is an online game where volunteers analyze brain blood vessel images (annotating the stalled blood vessels) to help scientists at Cornell University do Alzheimer’s research. ✅ Get started now! Create a free account at StallCatchers.com using the same email you used to create your SciStarter account. This helps you get credit in your SciStarter dashboard for Stall Catchers' contributions. Learn more on the Stall Catchers' SciStarter page → scistarter.org/stall-catchers… Then, register for the LIVE Catchathon → us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regist… 🏆 Eager to get started before we meet on Zoom? There’s already an active leaderboard that's been running all month → bit.ly/3UXgYkD No experience needed; just curiosity and a desire to make a difference. Every click counts! #Catchathon #CitizenScience #AlzheimersAwareness #SciStarterLIVE

🌟 CityCamp Gainesville 2025🌟 Our first community-led unconference brought residents, students & civic tech leaders together to tackle housing, AI ethics, LGBTQ+ resources, food insecurity & more. Thanks to all who joined! Recap👉floridainnovation.org/citycamp-gaine…

There's still time to register! geoemerge.com/hackathon-data… @FLInnovation @BrowardLibrary @GLOBEProgram

CALLING ARTISTS We’re looking for 2D art inspired by Chengyu about nature, climate, and harmony across time and place. Submit by Sept 8, 2025: bit.ly/chengyuforchan… Guidelines: bit.ly/chengyuforchan…

EMERGE is in the @LakeONews! There’s still time for you to join our mission & fight mosquitoes across Florida with NASA science. Supported as well by: @FLInnovation, @SciStarter & others ❤️

This account is no longer active. If you want to keep up with us on social media, you can follow us on Instagram (instagram.com/citsci_org/), Facebook (facebook.com/CitSci.org/), and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/citsci…).

Come hangout with me tomorrow!

Earlier this year, Miami nearly scrapped its recycling program, raising alarms across FL. Enter Recyclepedia, a free app being co-developed by #DreaminGreen & Florida Community Innovation to make recycling easier, clearer—even fun. Help us test it: floridainnovation.org/recyclepedia

Fun in the sun (on Zoom)

Gainesville friends: see you on Saturday!

Orlando friends: see you there!

Gainesville, FL friends: Join us!

Thanks to a grant from the @GainesvilleCRA, we're partnering with the Porter's Farm for the Gentrification Risk Assessment Tool launch. 🚨 Join the Fight Against Gentrification in Gainesville by starting the conversation! 🚨 Learn more: bit.ly/fcigratevent

You know what to do! floridainnovation.org/donate

If you've ever wanted to take me out to dinner, donate $30 to @flinnovation instead! floridainnovation.org/donate

Anyone can find a way to make a difference with civic tech! Find your mission at floridainnovation.org (2/2)

We had so much fun speaking to #ufcskickstart! The audience was primarily University of Florida first-years getting their start with tech. Olivia & I from @FLInnovation gave an overview of civic tech — tech for the public good — & then shared FCI’s model project examples. (1/2)