The Kaleidoscope of Citizen ScienceCommentary

The narratives in this issue suggest six themes that merit further exploration: (1) the complexity of citizen science as a concept; (2) the potential to incorporate insights from the literature on team science; (3) the role of power and privilege in citizen science; (4) tensions over standardization, regulation, and quality control; (5) the nature and importance of local knowledge; and (6) the role of funding sources in citizen science initiatives. Taken together, these narratives and themes provide an image of citizen science that is like a kaleidoscope. They portray citizen science as a jumble of different kinds of activities that are in a constant state of flux. One of the most important tasks for the citizen science community going forward is to find ways to harness this energy and innovation while providing appropriate guidelines and standards.