Safecast held a special field trip focused on citizen science ideation for visiting American students from the Seattle Academy.
Nineteen students and three teachers from the Seattle Academy had the opportunity to visit Safecast’s Tokyo office on April 12th. The half-day excursion comprised various activities aimed at fostering an understanding of citizen science, radiation, and open hardware.
Led by Safecast’s Lead Researcher, Azby Brown, and Education and Outreach Director, Kelsie Stewart, the event kicked off with a citizen-science ideation session. This session aimed to stimulate creative thinking and brainstorming among the students.
Following the ideation session, the students received a lecture on Safecast, radiation, and open hardware, providing them with insights into Safecast’s mission and the technology behind it.
One of the highlights of the trip was a mini-tour of Shibuya, where students had the opportunity to measure radiation levels around Tokyo using the bGeigie Nano, Safecast’s original device. This device connects all volunteers’ data measurements to the Safecast map, contributing to the organization’s extensive database.
Students share learnings
The field trip not only provided valuable insights into citizen science and radiation monitoring but also inspired students to explore new avenues of learning and innovation in their respective fields of interest.
The students and teachers expressed their appreciation for the trip, sharing their thoughts and insights gained from the experience.
A Grade 10 student, interested in entrepreneurship, engineering, and innovation, remarked, “I honestly really enjoyed the passion both of you guys had for this topic and NPO…the passion you brought to the discussion made me much more interested in what Safecast is doing.”
Another student, in Grade 11 and keen on computer science and engineering, reflected, “I learned a lot about radiation in different scenarios…the benefits of having open source and open data and how trust between the government and the people is very important.”
A Grade 9 student, passionate about math, computer science, robotics, and computational biology, emphasized the importance of both government and decentralized data sources. They also expressed interest in potentially designing similar systems as a summer project for their team.
Reflecting on the experience, a Grade 11 student shared, “At first I had little to no idea of what those words (from the work ideation) meant or what they symbolize but now I have a decent understanding of what they are and how I can use them in my life.”
About Safecast
Safecast is a registered Non-profit organisation (NPO) that runs 100% on donations run entirely by volunteers. Safecast is funded entirely by our community, our families and our friends.
In efforts to maintain independence, Safecast refuses to take funding from government or energy industry sources. run entirely by volunteers.
If you are interested in the organisation’s work on independent radiation and air quality monitoring and citizen science, we kindly ask your consideration for a donation to through a credit card or Paypal donation.
Donate here → Safecast Japan Ippan Shadan Hojin (Japanese for NPO)
Gather data where you live
Are you interested in owning a Safecast device yourself?
Continuing our tradition of innovation in open environmental data gathering solutions for the public, SAFECAST proudly introduces the bGeigieZen. Designed as a fully-compatible successor to our award-winning bGeigie Nano, the bGeigieZen is a rugged, customizable, open-source data-logging Geiger counter.
Like previous models in our bGeigie series, it is GPS-equipped and allows users to easily generate maps of radiation levels using the SAFECAST API and our online map. By using the reliable M5Stack for processing and display, we are able to provide greater functionality and flexibility.
For details→ Reserve your BGeigie Zen here