Citizen Science Day

This event is held in the Czech language.

Join your class for our unique Citizen Science Day event on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at IT4Innovations at VŠB-TUO!

Discover the fascinating world of Citizen Science and find out how you can be part of this global activity and get involved in collecting data for scientific purposes. We have prepared interactive workshops where you can try to build a sensor to measure air quality, monitor the spread of the White-toothed Shrew in our nature or investigate urban biodiversity.

Choose one or all of the projects below and register your class for a specific time. Capacity per project is 25 students. A schedule of possible registrations can be found at https://events.eosc.cz/event/253/registrations/ 

Project 1: Public involvement in research: Monitoring the spread of the White-toothed Shrew in the Czech Republic

Did you know you, too, can become a scientist and help discover new things about nature? We gave it a try with a small but interesting creature - the White-toothed Shrew! This tiny insectivore, which looks a bit like a mouse, has only recently appeared in the Czech Republic and has started to spread. And since it is often caught in rodent traps, we decided to involve the public in its monitoring. And what did we find? When the public and scientists join forces, we can learn a lot of new things quickly and cheaply. Come to our talk to hear precisely what we learned; thanks to the public!

Tutor: Alena Fornůsková, Ph.D., is a scientist at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the CAS. Apart from her scientific activities, she is also involved in popularisation, which she has used in her research on the distribution of the white-toothed shrew in the Czech Republic.

Project 2: Build your own air sensor and measure air quality hyper-locally

The presentation will introduce the project of the Senzorvzduchu association, which involves citizens in measuring air quality with self-built sensors. We will explain to the students the principles of Citizen Science in general and the opportunity to actively participate in environmental protection and understand how air affects our health. During the lecture, you will learn:

• How air pollution is measured.
• How to quickly build your own air sensor.
• How hyperlocal measurement works and why it is essential for mapping air quality in cities.

We look forward to an interactive discussion where we will engage you in hands-on demonstrations of how to work with data and show how each of you can contribute to cleaner air and a better environment around us.

Tutor: Michael Lažan, MBA, is a citizen science ambassador in the Czech Republic and founder of Senzorvzduchu z.s., focused on engaging students in discussions and technology/data practices.

Project 3: City Nature Challenge 2025: Ostrava - exploring urban biodiversity

Discover the nature around you with the iNaturalist app! This workshop will introduce you to the workings of the popular iNaturalist app, which allows you to document and share your nature discoveries easily. We'll learn how to use the app to identify different species of plants and animals and try everything out in the field. Plus, we'll introduce you to the global City Nature Challenge, which promotes city biodiversity monitoring. Join us and discover how you can contribute to understanding urban nature and simultaneously be part of international research!

Tutors: Tomáš Ocásek and Bc. Kristina Gurecká are a museum educators at the Ostrava Museum.