Open Data and the Next Evolution in Citizen Science - Directions Magazine

" ... Today, citizen science is jumping off from a different plateau, one swarmed with hackers, social media and open innovation. The World Science Festival, which took place in June in New York City, put the spotlight on this plateau with Science Hack Day, a two-day event of scientists, students, and scientific-minded citizens hacking and workshopping to create solutions. (Right: An image from a balloon. )  ... One of the featured groups participating in Science Hack Day was Public Lab, an open community of citizen scientists investigating environmental concerns. The organization held a balloon mapping workshop to demonstrate the value of their cost-effective method of taking high-resolution aerial pictures in tandem with their toolkits, open data and public domain.  Residents of the Gulf Coast have used balloon mapping to generate their own aerial imagers of the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010. Public Lab's Director of Urban Development, Liz Barry, says without balloon mapping little to no documentation would have been done in that area. (Left: DIY balloon mapping kit.) ..."