The Library will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2025, in observance of Memorial Day.

Neighborhood Science

collage of images of Angelenos enjoying NeiSci activities and a bird spotted on a NeiSci excursion


Harness the power of science for your neighborhood.

Neighborhood Science, more commonly known as Citizen Science or Crowd-Sourced Science, is ordinary people of any age gathering scientific information locally and sharing it with the global scientific community.


Get involved and join us for these programs to begin your journey as a Neighborhood Scientist.


Check out these kits to conduct observations in your own home or neighborhood, at your own pace.


Use these simplified data collection forms to contribute your observation data anonymously. No login or registration required.

teen studying at the library


Fun science projects you can do to help save the world while staying at home or out exploring your neighborhood.


Games you can play to learn about pressing global issues. Some games help contribute to and monitor these important global issues.


Explore these citizen and neighborhood science research project platforms to find more fun and meaningful scientific research to help build a resilient and sustainable community anywhere around the world.

Books for Children

  • Bat count : a citizen science story

    Bat count : a citizen science story

    Forrester, Anna, 1966-
  • Be a citizen scientist!

    Be a citizen scientist!

    Rajczak, Michael
  • Becoming a mosquito

    Becoming a mosquito

    Hansen, Grace
  • Bird count

    Bird count

    Edwards Richmond, Susan
  • Butterflies Belong Here

    Butterflies Belong Here

    Hopkinson, Deborah
  • Citizen science

    Citizen science

    Fontichiaro, Kristin.
  • Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery From Your Own Backyard

    Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery From Your Own Backyard

    Burns, Loree Griffin

    Learn how ordinary folks can contribute to data collection for scientific research and the protection of urban wildlife.

  • Climate Emergency Atlas

    Climate Emergency Atlas

    Hooke, Dan
  • Counting birds : the idea that helped save our feathered friends

    Counting birds : the idea that helped save our feathered friends

    Stemple, Heidi E. Y
  • Dive in! : exploring our connection with the ocean

    Dive in! : exploring our connection with the ocean

    Eriksson, Ann, 1956-
  • Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe

    Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe

    Clinton, Chelsea
  • Empowering young voices for the planet

    Empowering young voices for the planet

    Cherry, Lynne
  • Energy island : how one community harnessed the wind and changed their world

    Energy island : how one community harnessed the wind and changed their world

    Drummond, Allan.
  • Exploring environmental science with children and teens

    Exploring environmental science with children and teens

    Harrington, Eileen G.
  • Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals That Have Disappeared

    Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals That Have Disappeared

    Riera, Lucas
  • Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles

    Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles

    Cousteau, Philippe
  • Get into citizen science

    Get into citizen science

    Kovacs, Vic
  • Hike

    Hike

    Oswald, Pete
  • Mosquitoes can't bite ninjas

    Mosquitoes can't bite ninjas

    Novak, Jordan P
  • Oil

    Oil

    Winter, Jonah, 1962-
  • One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey

    One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey

    Cole, Henry
  • Packs : strength in numbers

    Packs : strength in numbers

    Salyer, Hannah
  • Path to the stars : my journey from Girl Scout to rocket scientist

    Path to the stars : my journey from Girl Scout to rocket scientist

    Acevedo, Sylvia
  • Star finder! : a step-by-step guide to the night sky

    Star finder! : a step-by-step guide to the night sky

  • The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome

    The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome

    Carmichael, L. E.
  • The Monarchs are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery

    The Monarchs are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery

    Hirsch, Rebecca E.
  • There once was a sky full of stars

    There once was a sky full of stars

    Crelin, Bob.
  • We are Water Protectors

    We are Water Protectors

    Lindstrom, Carole
  • World Without Fish: How Could We Let This Happen?

    World Without Fish: How Could We Let This Happen?

    Kurlansky, Mark

Books for Young Adults

  • A visual guide to weather and climate

    A visual guide to weather and climate

    Malizia, Diana
  • Citizen science : how anyone can contribute to scientific discovery

    Citizen science : how anyone can contribute to scientific discovery

    Hulick, Kathryn
  • Dark matters : nature's reaction to light pollution

    Dark matters : nature's reaction to light pollution

    Galat, Joan Marie, 1963-
  • Do-it-yourself sustainable water projects : collect, store, purify, and drill for water

    Do-it-yourself sustainable water projects : collect, store, purify, and drill for water

    Dempsey, Paul
  • Enough water? : a guide to what we have and how we use it

    Enough water? : a guide to what we have and how we use it

  • Giraffe extinction : using science and technology to save the gentle giants

    Giraffe extinction : using science and technology to save the gentle giants

    Anderson, Tanya
  • One Planet: A Celebration of Biodiversity

    One Planet: A Celebration of Biodiversity

    Hulot, Nicolas
  • Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault

    Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault

    Fowler, Cary
  • Shark Quest: Protecting the Ocean's Top Predators

    Shark Quest: Protecting the Ocean's Top Predators

    Young, Karen Romano
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

    The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

    Kamkwamba, William
  • The Ecology Book

    The Ecology Book

  • The field guide to citizen science : how you can contribute to scientific research and make a differ

    The field guide to citizen science : how you can contribute to scientific research and make a differ

    Cavalier, Darlene.
  • The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and its Ecosystems

    The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and its Ecosystems

    Ignotofsky, Rachel
  • Whale quest : working together to save endangered species

    Whale quest : working together to save endangered species

    Young, Karen Romano

Books for Adults

  • A question and answer guide to astronomy

    A question and answer guide to astronomy

    Bely, Pierre-Yves.
  • Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere

    Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere

  • Citizen scientist : searching for heroes and hope in an age of extinction

    Citizen scientist : searching for heroes and hope in an age of extinction

    Hannibal, Mary Ellen
  • Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaptation

    Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaptation

    Hilty, Jodi A
  • Diary of a citizen scientist : chasing tiger beetles and other new ways of engaging the world

    Diary of a citizen scientist : chasing tiger beetles and other new ways of engaging the world

    Russell, Sharman Apt.
  • Exploding stars and invisible planets : the science of what's out there

    Exploding stars and invisible planets : the science of what's out there

    Watson, Fred, 1944-
  • Flint fights back : environmental justice and democracy in the Flint water crisis

    Flint fights back : environmental justice and democracy in the Flint water crisis

    Pauli, Benjamin J.
  • For the birds : protecting wildlife through the naturalist gaze

    For the birds : protecting wildlife through the naturalist gaze

    Cherry, Elizabeth Regan, 1977-
  • Green birding

    Green birding

    Gregson, Richard, 1948-
  • In search of mycotopia : citizen science, fungi fanatics, and the untapped potential of mushrooms

    In search of mycotopia : citizen science, fungi fanatics, and the untapped potential of mushrooms

    Bierend, Doug
  • Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators

    Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators

    Embry, Paige
  • Science by the people : participation, power, and the politics of environmental knowledge

    Science by the people : participation, power, and the politics of environmental knowledge

    Kimura, Aya Hirata, 1974-
  • The beginner's guide to birding : the easiest way for anyone to explore the incredible world of bird

    The beginner's guide to birding : the easiest way for anyone to explore the incredible world of bird

    Swick, Nate
  • The climate conscious gardener

    The climate conscious gardener

  • The crowd & the cosmos : adventures in the zooniverse

    The crowd & the cosmos : adventures in the zooniverse

    Lintott, Chris
  • The end of night : searching for natural darkness in an age of artificial light

    The end of night : searching for natural darkness in an age of artificial light

    Bogard, Paul, 1966-
  • The incidental steward : reflections on citizen science

    The incidental steward : reflections on citizen science

    Busch, Akiko.
  • The meaning of it all : thoughts of a citizen scientist

    The meaning of it all : thoughts of a citizen scientist

    Feynman, Richard P. 1918-1988.
  • The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation

    The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation

  • The state of science : what the future holds and the scientists making it happen

    The state of science : what the future holds and the scientists making it happen

    Zimmer, Marc
  • The urban commons : how data and technology can rebuild our communities

    The urban commons : how data and technology can rebuild our communities

    O'Brien, Daniel T., 1983-
  • Urban pollution : science and management

    Urban pollution : science and management

Top