April 29 – May 7, 2022
Science is all around us! COSI invites you to contribute to scientific research by participating in Ohio’s very own BioBlitz!
Science is all around us! For this year’s Science Festival, COSI invites you to celebrate that science and even contribute to scientific research by participating in Ohio’s very own BioBlitz!
What is a BioBlitz? It is a way for our community to work together to find as many species as possible in Ohio. COSI is inviting individuals, families, schools, and organizations to participate by simply snapping photos of plants and animals in the wild. Using the iNaturalist platform, our observations will be tracked and made available to naturalists and researchers. Let’s explore Ohio’s biodiversity!
How do I participate in the BioBlitz?
Download the free app, iNaturalist, and create a profile.
Observe a plant or animal in the wild: Using the app, take a clear, focused photo (or a few) of the organism. Upload it as an observation, and congrats – you have made your first observation!
Learn from the community – naturalists and other community members will help you to identify the organism.
Make as many observations as you want. We will be keeping track to see how many different species we can identify as a community during the BioBlitz!


Still have questions?
Watch COSI Director of Science Content Dr. Marci Howdyshell explain what Citizen Science is, share stories of scientists who use iNaturalist to inform their research, and provide a primer on using the iNaturalist platform so that you will be ready to start observing!Check out some of this year’s in-person BioBlitz events!
Latest Past Events
Flora, Fauna and Flyers Bioblitz
McKnight Outdoor Education Center (Indian Village) 3228 Indian Village Rd, ColumbusJoin Columbus Recreation and Parks to explore the trails and track the wildlife you see along the way! Learn how to use the iNaturalist app to document bugs, birds and other critters finding homes along Griggs reservoir in a Bioblitz!
Flora, Fauna and Flyers Bioblitz
McKnight Outdoor Education Center (Indian Village) 3228 Indian Village Rd, ColumbusJoin Columbus Recreation and Parks to explore the trails and track the wildlife you see along the way! Learn how to use the iNaturalist app to document bugs, birds and other critters finding homes along Griggs reservoir in a Bioblitz!
Birding BioBlitz
Grange Insurance Audubon Center 505 W Whittier St, ColumbusJoin us for a birding opportunity for all birders at any experience level. Binoculars and field guides will be provided and all species found will be recorded as part of the COSI Science Festival BioBlitz. Come prepared to find some birds rain or shine!
BioBlitz FAQs
Here’s how:
On the computer: Log in to iNaturalist.org and click “Identify” on the top gray bar. You can then filter the images you’re looking at: Click “Filters” (to the right of the “Go” button), then “More Filters,” and type in our Project: “COSI Science Festival BioBlitz 2020.” This will provide you with all of the observations within our project, and you can suggest an identification.
On the app: Join our project so that you can identify species within the project. Under the upper left hand side dropdown, select “Projects.” Tap the magnifying glass to search for our project: “COSI Science Festival BioBlitz 2022.” Within that project, you can click on any observation to suggest an identification. On the observation page, you will see photos taken of the organism. Click the comment button (in the middle) to add an ID suggestion.
Your suggestion may agree or disagree with other identifications. That’s okay – this is how iNaturalist works! When enough people agree on an identification, it will be considered Research Grade.
We would like to know if you’re a naturalist helping us out. If you are a naturalist or local expert and are dedicating your time during our BioBlitz, please reach out to Director of Science Content Marci Howdyshell
1. Take good pictures! Make sure the organism is in focus. Consider taking a few pictures from different angles to help with identification.
2. Make sure that the date, time, and location are tracked. You can add these manually (you will need to be specific) or just allow your phone to track them. Observations will only count if they were collected in Ohio during the BioBlitz event.
3. Make sure you are taking pictures of plants and animals in the wild – not captive (your pet) or cultivated (your garden). It’s okay to practice with those observations, but they should be marked “captive/cultivated” and will be considered casual observations on the platform.
4. Please do not take pictures of humans for iNaturalist; remember that these images go public immediately and will be flagged.
On the computer: You can find the project page at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2022-cosi-science-festival-bioblitz
On the app: Under the upper left hand side dropdown, select “Projects.” Tap the magnifying glass to search for our project: “COSI Science Festival BioBlitz 2021.” Within that project, you can click “Join” to keep up-to-date on the project.
On the project page, you’ll be able to see our current number of observations, number of different species, and people participating. We will also have a leaderboard showing users who have the most observations and the most species!!
There are a lot of different ways to get involved in Citizen Science. Check out the websites below for more Citizen Science projects: