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CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: I'm Christopher Cruise. This week on our program, we learn about citizen science and its growing popularity. We also hear from a group that uses trash to make music. And later we tell you about an artist who creates sculptures with a chainsaw. (MUSIC) JUNE SIMMS: More and more people are getting involved in science. These are not professional scientists but members of the public. Public involvement in scientific research is known as citizen science. There's a science project for just about any interest, and professional scientists are often happy to have the help. CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: An example of citizen science is a project called Project BudBurst. Over the past six growing seasons, Project BudBurst has used thousands of volunteer observers. They record when local plants develop their leaves, flowers and fruit. The observations go into a huge database. Then plant scientists can study the data to look for changes over time. Project director Sandra Henderson says participatory science like this is an idea that is growing quickly. SANDRA HENDERSON: "Originally, it was -- I don't want to say limited, but it was [primarily] a lot of weather data and bird data. Now what we're seeing is more and more [plant and animal categories], more and more interest. As a result, there's really a citizen science project to meet just about any interest." For example, people who enjoy astronomy can observe changes in the brightness of a star. People can examine satellite images of Earth to look for sites where archeologists might find the lost tomb of Genghis Khan, the Mongolian warrior and ruler. Or someone interested in orca whales can listen to underwater microphones and let researchers know when the whales are present. | 
