Operation Firefly has ended for 2011. Thank you to all the kids across Northern Virginia who
became Citizen Scientists over the summer as part of Operation Firefly.
Register to participate on the Firefly Watch Web site hosted by the Museum of Science, Boston.
When you register, you will be asked to choose your location! Consider using your own backyard as an easy, accessible home base.When you register, you'll provide a description of your chosen location. For example, “Does your yard have lots of shrubs and long grass?” “Is your grass mowed and fertilized?” You will only need to provide this information once during the season.
Observe fireflies one evening a week now through July 31 for 10 minutes each time. Fill out a Junior Scientist Observation data sheet each time you visit
your backyard to look for fireflies. Remember, the absence of fireflies is just as important to our researchers as the presence of fireflies. Even if you don't see fireflies in your backyard, our researchers want to know, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t count fireflies during every observation.
Think about the following questions as you record your observations:
How many fireflies did you see?
How many different firefly colors did you observe?
Did you notice different flashing patterns? How many flashing patterns did you see?
Where were the fireflies that you watched? Flying around? Resting on a leaf? In a shrub?
Use the online tools and tips on the Museum of Science, Boston’s Firefly Watch Web site to help scientists map where fireflies are found and interact with fellow Citizen and Junior Scientists across the nation!
Record your data on the observation sheet or the observation log and upload your observations to the Museum of Science, Boston Firefly website by logging into your account.Then, email a copy of the data from your datasheet to The Children’s Science Center.