Everybody has what it takes to be a scientist! From measuring light pollution via a smartphone app to analyzing pollution on the beach or mapping invasive mosquitoes – these are just three examples of projects in Germany where citizens collaborate with science. Citizen science invites non-professionals to support and conduct scientific research by collecting and analyzing data and bringing in their own questions.
The online platform Bürger schaffen Wissen – Citizens Create Knowledge informs about citizen science, different projects and the opportunities to participate. The platform also connects current projects to each other and seeks to increase public awareness of Citizen science. Bürger schaffen Wissen is a joint project of Wissenschaft im Dialog and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. The platform is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; additional funding is provided by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
Science communication is continually developing and changing. In addition to new tools and means of communication, there are also changing content requirements. The community is growing and becoming increasingly professional. The platform wissenschaftskommunikation.de was created to reflect on current trends and topics and to provide support for everyday work in science communication. We invite users to contribute by proposing new formats or getting involved as guest authors.
The website is a cooperation project of Science in Dialogue (Wissenschaft im Dialog), the National Institute of Science Communication (Nationales Institut für Wissenschaftskommunikation) and the institute for German studies of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie). It is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and the Klaus Tschira Foundation (Klaus Tschira Stiftung).