There are multiple entry points to successful student projects.
- Citizen Science - list of connections and Wisconsin stories
- Topic Ideas Connected to the Wisconsin Standards for Science
- Project-Based Learning - resources to support longer-term student projects, which don't have to be full science fairs
Citizen Science
- Read about Bayfield HS Teacher Rick Erickson's citizen science project with chaga mushrooms
- Wisconsin DNR Listing of Citizen-Based Monitoring
- Wisconsin Citizen-Based Monitoring - further listing of active programs, when in the year they're active, and links for more information.
- Data from around Wisconsin:
- WI DNR Wildlife Reports - small game, big game, non-game, waterfowl, furbearers, and historical harvest estimates
- WI DNR Citizen Lake Monitoring Reports - annual reports by county and lake name of secchi, chemistry, and temperature
- WI DNR Fishery and Habitat Reports - summary documents of significant findings and observations
- Wisconsin State Climatology Office - Complete Climate records for the state for over 150 years
- Zooniverse - a repository of ideas for "people-powered research"
- Wikipedia Listing of Citizen Science - extensive list of links to citizen science projects
- SciStarter - searchable list (by location and topic) of links to citizen science projects and resources - created by Arizona State University
- Small World Initiative - a UW-Madison-based project to develop new antibiotics from soils across the world
- Foldoscopes - inexpensive, high-powered microscopes using a smart phone to collect local data. Lots of other DIY smart phone microscopes out there too.
- National Phenology Network - how does our world change with the seasons, and is that changing over time?
- BudBurst - a citizen-science group looking at how plants change over time with a changing climate
- Wisconsin DNR Slideshow Review of Citizen Science Work and a news update from DNR on a few citizen science efforts
Student ideas connected to Wisconsin Standards for Science
- Initial List of Ideas by Grade - some grades and content areas do not have ideas listed yet, please suggest ideas!
- Appendix A of WSS - a listing of local science topics linked to the main content areas of the standards, as well as engineering connections. Students could generate questions related to these topics.
Project-Based Learning
- Buck Institute for Education - lots of resources and searchable ideas for project-based learning
- Edutopia - lots of ideas on how to set up these projects and make them meaningful
- Article on Differences between "Projects" and "Project-based learning"
- Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning - an article from ASCD's Education Leadership