Broad Implementation Of The Lost Ladybug Project: Integrating New Places And New Faces Into A National Lifelong Learning Opportunity

迷失瓢虫项目(LLP)是康奈尔大学公民科学项目，通过使用瓢虫向非科学家传授生物多样性、入侵物种和保护的概念，将科学与教育联系起来。该项目成功地让数千名儿童(5-11岁)收集了瓢虫的现场数据，并建立了一个对科学家有用的瓢虫生物学数据库。它还通过互联网接触到了8万人。该项目的目标是促进对生物多样性和科学的终身欣赏，并为科学家提供关于瓢虫物种在全国各地不断变化的分布和丰度的数据。目前的项目正在通过为网站创造新的工具和材料，并与(1)青年团体、(2)科学中心、社区中心、植物园、自然中心和有机农场、(3)成年人、(4)美洲原住民和(5)说西班牙语的人建立新的联系，在地理、文化、人口统计和背景方面扩大Lost Ladybug Project的覆盖范围。扩大后的项目可能会让数以万计的新个体参与瓢虫监测研究。一项评估研究正在衡量扩大对新参与者的知识、技能、态度、兴趣和行为的影响。迷失的瓢虫项目在推动科学发现和建立科学知识方面发挥了重要作用。该项目的志愿者收集的数据提高了科学家对(1)瓢虫物种的存在/不存在，(2)瓢虫物种组成的变化，(3)瓢虫物种范围的变化，以及(4)瓢虫个体大小和斑点数量的变化的理解。评估数据显示，该项目拥有广泛的受众范围，正在实现其针对成人和儿童的学习目标。扩大该项目的覆盖范围将进一步提高该项目对生态学、保护生物学和生物多样性研究以及教育研究的重要性。

The Lost Ladybug Project (LLP) is a Cornell University citizen science project that connects science to education by using ladybugs to teach non-scientists concepts of biodiversity, invasive species, and conservation. The project has successfully engaged thousands of children (ages 5-11) in collecting field data on ladybugs and building a ladybug biology database that is useful to scientists. It has also reached 80,000 people over the Internet. The goal of the project is to promote lifelong appreciation of biodiversity and science, and provide scientists with data on the changing distribution and abundance of ladybug species across the country. The current project is broadening the Lost Ladybug Project's reach geographically, culturally, demographically, and contextually by creating new tools and materials for the website, and forging new connections with (1) youth groups, (2) science centers, community centers, botanical gardens, nature centers, and organic farms, (3) adults, (4) Native Americans, and (5) Spanish-speakers. The expanded project could potentially involve tens of thousands of new individuals in ladybug monitoring research. An evaluation study is measuring the impacts of the expansion on new participants' knowledge, skills, attitudes, interests, and behavior.The Lost Ladybug Project has been important in advancing scientific discovery and building scientific knowledge. Data collected by the project's volunteers have improved scientists' understanding of (1) ladybug species presence/absence, (2) shifts in ladybug species composition, (3) shifts in ladybug species ranges, and (4) change in ladybug body size and spot number. Evaluation data show that the project has a broad audience reach and is achieving its learning goals for adults and children. Broadening the project's reach will further increase the project's importance to ecology, conservation biology and biodiversity research, as well as education research.