The latest developments in technology are changing the way we handle and process scientific data. A vast number of people make use of online mediums like Wikipedia, facebook, twitter etc, which allow fast and easy access to all kinds of scientific information. As a lot of scientific databases are nowadays available online, the scientists are no longer the main information gatekeepers. Making use of this data and media for education and dissemination of science is a key challenge for science centres in the near future.

1. Science Centers and Planetaria
as Citizen Science Platforms
Wouter Schrier and Pedro Russo
EU Universe Awareness / Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands
schrier@strw.leidenuniv.nl

2. Before: When you wanted to know about scientific topic:
- Public science talks
- Science Center
- Library
­ Now: New (web) technologies:
- Much more information available
- Faster and more direct ways of finding scientific information, even the
actual data!
Scientists are no longer the information gatekeepers!
IENCE
OPE N SC
­ People expect of Science Centers to use real scientific data in their
products

3. Developed by SCISS
Uniview – the Known Universe
http://www.scalingtheuniverse.com/
­ Interactive planetarium systems showing the known Universe as mapped through
astronomical observations
­ Digital Universe Atlas:
- 4-D map of the Universe maintained/updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of
Natural History;
- Every object represented to scale and its correct measured location according to the best
scientific research to-date.
­ Hardware ranges from single projector flat screens to fulldome projections
­ Currently more than 100 Uniview installations at science centers around the world:
- American Museum of Natural History (New York, USA)
- Haus der Astronomie (Heidelberg, Germany)
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Colorado, USA)
- ...

4. Developed by Microsoft
World Wide Telescope
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/
­ Explore the Universe using imagery from the best ground and space-based
telescopes
­ Web-based Visualization Software that enables computers to function as
a virtual telescope at multiple wavelengths
- Constructed from observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray
observatory, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, …
­ Understand the cosmos through narrated guided tours from astronomers
featuring interesting places/phenomena in the sky
­ Web/Desktop to Full Dome Planetarium capabilities

5. Developed by Leiden University
Globe4D
http://www.globe4d.com/
­ Interactive installation for immersive 4-dimensional globe viewing
­ Playful and interactive way of learning how global processes on Earth
work and evolve(d)
- Continental drift, seasonal changes, global effects of changing the waterlevel,
tsunamis/earthquakes, migration patterns, …
­ Globe4D installations in multiple Science Centers around the world:
- Civel Experience Change Weather Center (Seoul, South-Korea)
- Old Observatory Science Center (Leiden, the Netherlands)
- Technoseum (Mannheim, Germany)
- ...

6. “Citizen Science”
­ Let the public participate in the Scientific Process
­ Public can help systematically analyze/identify data-sets collected by
scientists that computers cannot
Help search in crowded radio bands for extraterrestrial in radio Go through Hubble archives in search of
signals from space
‘hidden treasures’

7. Initiated by Adler Planetarium
Galaxy Zoo
http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
­ Global Citizen Science project to classify galaxies according to their shape
Science question: Do spiral galaxies have a preferred direction of rotation?
­ launched in July 2007, with a data set made up of a million galaxies imaged with
the robotic telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
- Within 24 hours, 70.000 classifications per hour received
- More than 50 million classifications from 150.000 people were received in first year
­ Volunteers were asked to classify SDSS galaxies as belonging to one of six
categories – elliptical , clockwise spiral , anticlockwise spiral, edge-on galaxy , star/
don’t know, merger

8. Galaxy Zoo
http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
Science question: Do spiral galaxies have a preferred direction of rotation?
NO
Other (unexpected) results:
- Much larger number of Blue
Ellipticals than initially thought
- Astronomers previously thought
that all red galaxies are elliptical
RUE!
NOT T
- Discovery of ‘Hanny’s Voorwerp’:
gas-cloud heated by the jet from
Original Galaxy Zoo User Interface
a black hole

9. Galaxy Zoo
http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
­ Very Successful!
- 24 papers published
- More than 250.000 people have taken part already
- Currently at third iteration: Galaxy Zoo - Hubble
Motivation?
“Galaxy Zoo: exploring the Motivations of Citizen Science Volunteers ”,
M. Raddick et al. 2009
- Astronomy
- Working with real data
- Contributing to real science

10. Developed by Blackshore Creative
Cerberus
http://www.cerberusgame.com/
­ Goal: Use Citizen Science to create a surface map of Mars
using data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
­
Web-based computer game
­ Serious gaming:
“A game designed with educational purposes”
- Motivation:
* Game: Fun – achievements – ranking/scoring – social element
* Education: Learn something about
cartography/Mars – contribute to Science

11. Cerberus
http://www.cerberusgame.com/
­ Prototype installed at Science Museum in Delft, the Netherlands
­
acebook version under development
Screenshot of the prototype installation of Cerberus

12. Developed by Universe Awareness
http://www.unawe.org/kids/
- Bring the news from Observatories/Science
Centers to the public!
- Weekly breaking astronomy news update for
children of 8+
- Collaboration with ESO, NASA Chandra,
ASTRON, Royal Astronomical Society, South-
African Astronomical Observatory and
Europlanet
- Share with children the excitement that the
latest scientific discoveries bring
- Demonstrate that there is still much to learn
about the Universe – research that they could
contribute to in the future
- Translations in 15+ Languages

13. Conclusions
­ Science Centers can initiate and/or support Citizen
Science projects
e.g. Galaxy Zoo, other Zooniverse projects
­
Science Centers can act as a facilitator for Citizen Science
e.g. Cerebrus
­ Citizen Science can act as a follow-up for Science Centers
-
Science Center excites the public, which then can stay active on the topic by getting involved in
the Citizen Science project
OR
- Science Centers can act as a follow-up/physical ‘helpdesk’ for Citizen Science projects
­ By interacting with real scientific data, people…:
… Feel closer to reality and by such feel more engaged in the actual scientific process
… Get a much better understanding of the science and processes
… Are much more motivated
… Can actually contribute to the Scientific Process