NCM Kicks off Summertime Citizen Science Project

Ready, Set, Glow! Encourages Children to Become Stewards of their Environment through Firefly Observation and Online Reporting

Firefly-Focused Website Features New Games and Activities, as well as Suggestions for Ways Kids Can Become More Involved with their Natural Surroundings

WASHINGTON, DC (May 3, 2010) – The National Children’s Museum (NCM) today announces the 2010 launch of Ready, Set, Glow!, designed to help children become “citizen scientists” by studying fireflies in their own backyards and inputting the data online. Through a kid-friendly website – www.ReadySetGlow.org – children can play a new matching game to help “Flicker the Firefly” find his mate, learn the basics of firefly behavior, as well as play word-search games, laugh at firefly-themed jokes, and print coloring sheets, word games, and other fun, educational activities to enhance the experience.

This is the second year of the multi-year project, a collaboration between NCM and the Museum of Science, Boston (MOS), designed to engage kids in fun, inquiry-based learning.

“In a year when many families are cutting back their summer vacation and kids’ camp budgets, creating free fun in one’s own backyard has become a priority,” said Linda Coulombe, Manager of Science Programs at the National Children’s Museum. “Ready, Set, Glow! provides an interactive opportunity for kids to explore their curiosity, and supply real data to researchers studying the insects, empowering children to make a difference.”

On www.ReadySetGlow.org, families meet the animated “Flicker the Firefly,” who leads them through the site’s features. Parents can learn tips for engaging kids in science, and children can download activity sheets, play a firefly matching game, read firefly jokes, and learn how to be a scientist by conducting the citizen scientist project. Then, families can visit the MOS Firefly Watch project website at www.mos.org/fireflywatch to register their “habitat,” learn more about the science behind the project, and upload their gathered firefly data.

NCM and MOS will feed the firefly-tracking data to partner-researchers from Tufts University and Fitchburg State College as part of a larger, multi-year entomological research project led by the institutions. Through Ready, Set, Glow!, the organizations hope to engage families and learn more about the geographic distribution of fireflies and their activity during the summer season.

“Parents are always looking for ways to help their kids learn and thrive in their natural surroundings, and being able to help connect kids to nature is important to our environment,” said Kathy Dwyer Southern, President & CEO of the National Children’s Museum. “We are committed to programs like these that demonstrate the Museum’s dedication to the environment and makes learning fun.”

Ready, Set, Glow! is one of a series of “kid citizen science” projects that NCM has conducted at its Launch Zone over the past year.  Others include the Lost LadyBug Project and Project FeederWatch, both led through a collaboration with Cornell University.  NCM also conducted a Monarch Watch program to commemorate Earth Day.

About the National Children’s Museum

The National Children’s Museum (NCM) is a world-class cultural and educational center that inspires children to care about and improve the world. Currently operating as a “museum without walls” through participation in community events and creative partnerships with other arts and cultural organizations, NCM will open an indoor space in November 2012 and an expansive outdoor experience in May 2013 at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Museum is poised to become Greater Washington’s premier family attraction and the only national museum dedicated entirely to children and their families and caregivers. The National Children’s Museum was designated by Congress in 2003 and was founded in 1974 as the Capital Children’s Museum.

About the Museum of Science

One of the world's largest science centers, the Museum of Science takes a hands-on approach to science and technology, attracting approximately 1.5 million visitors annually with its vibrant programs and over 700 interactive exhibits. Highlights include the Thomson Theater of Electricity, home of the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator; the Charles Hayden Planetarium; the Mugar Omni Theater, New England's only 180-degree IMAX® domed screen theater; and The Gordon Current Science & Technology Center (GCS&T), which offers breaking news stories to the public with interpretation by Museum staff. In 2004, the Museum launched the National Center for Technological Literacy® (NCTL®)—helping facilitate a nationwide expansion of technology literacy by working with regional schools, offering educational products and programs for pre-K-12 students and teachers, creating curricula, and supporting an online resource center. For more information, visit www.mos.org.

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