Mar 8, 2013

Swarmageddon: Join Our DIY Cicada-Tracking Events!

Bursting broods of bugs and ... beer?

Believe it!

The 17-year cicadas are coming, and Radiolab is inviting armchair scientists, lovers of nature and DIY makers to help predict the emergence of cicadas by building a homemade sensor and sharing your observations.

For makers in the New York City area, we'll help you build a "cicada detector" soil thermometer and serve up a free beer, Monday, April 8 at the Brooklyn Brewery. Radiolab's Jad Abumrad will be there, along with staff from the show and the WNYC Data News Team. The event is free, but reservations are required.

The following weekend, we'll build more detectors (sans beer, or Jad) at The New York Hall of Science. Join us at 12 noon, 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Space is limited, but both the event and detector are free with museum admission

If you can't make it to these, or any of the other planned events, you can use these step-by-step instructions to build a detector at home from parts you can buy online or at a local electronics store. (Or you can nab a basic soil thermometer.)

Then, report your readings. The more reports we get, the better we'll be able to watch for the cicadas' arrival. And once the swarming begins, we'll want your observations then, too! 

 

 

THE LAB sticker

Unlock member-only exclusives and support the show

Exclusive Podcast Extras
Entire Podcast Archive
Listen Ad-Free
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Video Extras
Original Music & Playlists