WEBVTT

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- Ever think you might want to
be a scientist

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or that you could work with
NASA?

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Well, thanks to you citizen
science programs, you can.

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Find out how next on "Real
World."

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[music playing]

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When you picture a scientist,
what comes to mind,

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a person in a white coat,
someone stuck in a lab?

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Actually, scientists are pretty
interesting people

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doing some really amazing work,

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and while some scientists do
work in a lab,

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others work in the field, under
the water, or on the computer,

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the one thing scientists all
have in common is that

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they're looking for answers

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to some serious real-world
problems.

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But sometimes they need help, so
they turn to citizen scientists

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to assist with their research.

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So what is a citizen scientist?

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- I think people are aware that
NASA has

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many different missions.

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We have missions to Mars.
We have missions to Saturn.

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We have many different missions
that are observing Earth.

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There's all this data coming in,
and quite honestly,

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scientists don't have time to go
through it all themselves.

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And we need people to look at
this data and tell us

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what discoveries might be
waiting there for us.

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So this is a way for the general
public to do serious,

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publishable science with us,
results that we need.

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- One of the longest-running
citizen science programs

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is GLOBE, or the Global Learning
and Observations to Benefit

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the Environment Program.

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GLOBE students from around the
world conduct research

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to measure and monitor changes
in their environment.

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These citizen scientists learn
to use specific tools

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before they go out in the field

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or begin their work on a
computer.

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And they follow a protocol,
which is a special set of steps

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to do their research.

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Think of a protocol just like
following a recipe for a cake.

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But why are protocols so
important?

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- The most powerful thing about
science is that it is a tool

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to actually discover things
about reality.

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But we all need to make the same
measurements in the same way.

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You have to design an experiment
so that anybody

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anyone in the world could do it
the same way

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and get similar results.

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There's a thing called a
scientific protocol,

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and this means that wherever you
are, we're using the same tools

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with the same precision, and
that means we can

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all compare our results.

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For example, let's say that
somebody asked you to measure

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the temperature of where you
are.

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Are you measuring in Celsius or
Fahrenheit?

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What time of day did you take
the measurements?

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Did you do it at nighttime or
during the daytime.

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If we simply ask people, "What
temperature is it?"

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We get all kinds of numbers that
don't make sense.

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But if we specify, "It needs to
be this accurate;

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you need to use these units;

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you need to measure at this time
of day,"

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then all of a sudden, we can
bring all of this information

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together and compare it and find
trends

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and make real discoveries about
what the world's doing.

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That's the power of the
precision

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of the tools of science, and
that's what a scientific

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protocol really means.

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- Citizen science projects may
also require you to practice

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some of your math skills.

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NASA S'COOL, for example, may
ask you to estimate the

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percentage of cloud cover in the
sky.

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Another project might ask for
the percent of a leaf

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that has been damaged by ozone.

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When the same scientific
protocols or steps are used

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to collect data, that data can
be analyzed by scientists

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to help them better understand
the problem

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they're trying to solve.

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So what are some other
opportunities for citizen

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scientists to collaborate with
NASA?

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- So which citizen science
project should you choose?

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Well, this is your chance to do
a little shopping and let your

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own curiosity be the guide.

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The wonderful thing about
citizen science is,

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you don't need any special
skills to get involved.

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You as you stand right now are
prepared to do

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these projects with us.

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To me, you really need some
curiosity.

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Are you curious about the
planets

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or about the Earth or the
universe?

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And if you can get us some
precious, do the measurements

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as carefully as you possibly
can,

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that will give us the best
results.

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But you need no special
training.

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Start it tomorrow.

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- It's pretty easy to get
started.

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Just go to the NASA Citizen
Scientists website,

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pick a program that catches your
interest,

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then be sure to make careful
observations,

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and follow the protocol exactly.

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Get out there and help.

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You really can make a
difference.

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See you next time on "Real
World."

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[music playing]