Science Showcase (formerly Citizen Science Weekend)

NBI is presenting a week full of events highlighting our partner organizations and sub-committees. All events open to the public. Registration and capacity details vary by organization. Click here for the Schedule of Events.

Nantucket has a wealth of scientists, researchers, and naturalists studying the variety of biodiversity within Nantucket’s natural world. Every other year during even years, NBI hosts a weekend where you can connect with these scientists and participate in our field research.

The Science Showcase provides opportunities for the public to join our island scientists and guest researchers from off-island for a variety of events, including ecological field trips, invasive species management and research data collection! You can have a chance to learn about the island’s rare or invasive plants, birds, insects, beach invertebrates, turtles, snakes, trees and marine life.

NBI has been hosting a field science event in alternate, even years since 2004. The event started as a weeklong BioBlitz and shifted to an interactive, island-wide Citizen Science Weekend in 2014 designed to get EVERYONE out exploring and researching the natural biodiversity of Nantucket. The event has been renamed Science Showcase starting in 2021 (originally planned for 2020 but was rescheduled due to COVID-19), and will return to being a full week highlighting the work that NBI partner organizations and sub-committees do.

Every other year, scientists and naturalists converge on Nantucket for an event focusing on biodiversity related inventory work, research and public education. The timing of the event varies from year to year in an effort to observe and document a wider variety of species at different stages of their respective life cycles. Experts in plant identification, insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals and other taxa spend time leading walks, recording species lists, conducting research and networking. Anyone interested in learning about the biodiversity of Nantucket is welcome to participate.

Past field trips and public events have included topics and titles such as “Liken’ Lichen”, “Battling Aliens on Nantucket” “Exploring Folger’s Marsh”, “Behavioral Ecology and Conservation of Snapping Turtles”, a Herpetological walk with Tobias Landberg, a Smooth Hummocks Sandplain Grasslands Walk, bird-banding at Edith Andrews’ house on Long Pond, dragonfly and damselfly catching and identification along Miacomet Pond, and “Spiders on a Friendly Basis”.