Their mechanism is Project PigeonWatch, an international research project that enlists the participation of kids the world over. A stroll along virtually any sidewalk in just about any city in the world reveals that this has not happened. They send their data to the Lab, where researchers determine how color morphs are distributed across the world and how color morph influences mate choice. By participating in Project PigeonWatch, kids learn to view their local environments in a whole new way, and they take pride in their abilities to contribute to a professional research project, says LaBranche. Excitement about the project continues to grow.
Educators find the project an excellent vehicle for teaching science.
To study pigeons, a bird we see every day yet know very little about, was received by the school, the school district, other teachers, and parents with enthusiasm. For some inner-city kids, PigeonWatching is their first connection to the natural world. That may be true for their parents, too, which is why the project was developed with an eye toward the parent-child relationship. PIPE is part of NSF's Informal Science Education Program's Parental Involvement initiative, designed to help parents become comfortable with science and to participate alongside their children. Already, PigeonWatchers have helped LaBranche discover some interesting preliminary findings.