Data to Action: A Secondary School-Based Citizen Science Project to Address Arsenic Contamination of Well Water

 “Data to Action: A Secondary School-Based Citizen Science Project to Address Arsenic Contamination of Well Water” is a 5-year NIH-NIGMS Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) to create and pilot a national model of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. This project aims to engage students as citizen scientists and provide them with the tools and skills to test wells in their communities and analyze the data. As part of the project, students will: 

• use the scientific process to ask real-world questions about drinking water contamination. 
• collect well water samples in their communities. 
• analyze data and answer questions using data they, and other students in Maine and New Hampshire, collected. 
• use data to increase awareness about the importance of having your well tested.
• mobilize their communities to address issues related to private well water safety through community meetings, forums, and events. 

Teachers participate in an annual week-long “DataLit Institute” to learn more about arsenic and other toxic metals, their impact on human health, and to develop curriculum to support data literacy and scientific communication skills. They work with local scientist partners to plan the scope and sequence of events for the up-coming school year.

Those who have contributed water samples to the All About Arsenic project can look up their test results here: