I personally thought that the conference was just an incredible experience all around. Even though the entire event was fantastic, what really got to me were the sessions about citizen science. It was cool to see how everyday people can help scientists anywhere by recording information or executing simple experiments. Places where scientists can connect to people (like scienceforcitizens.net) were presented, and I just wish I had more power to spread them.
One project that just immediately connected with me was the FoldIt project. It seemed awesome to know that by playing a game you are creating real possible proteins that may be useful for all sorts of scientific discoveries and advancements.
At the second citizen’s science presentation I went to, I was introduced to ChemSpider and Spectral Game. Too bad the content on these two sites were a few levels above my education, but knowing that there exists multiple opportunities for anyone to participate in science is incredible. The internet really is a great tool for scientists.
Still, the most interesting experience for me at the conference was being able to present my flash project in front of what seemed to me to be a pretty big audience. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was able to talk to people like Beth Beck.
