Making citizen science accessible and productive for young volunteers: Lessons learnt from a 3-year study of Zooniverse.

We report insights from a 3-year study of young volunteers in online citizen science (CS) projects on Zooniverse, that aimed to make science more accessible to youth and promote STEM learning. Through 232 log files, 64 survey responses and 39 in-depth interviews, we identified that young volunteers were mainly white, with science capital, and random patterns of participation. They were motivated by an interest in science and CS links with in- and out-of-school activities. Participation brought significant learning benefits to them such as, enhanced science knowledge, performance and confidence in doing science, and sharing knowledge with others. Some youth developed a sense of science agency through pursuing CS initiatives. Learning was achieved through different forms of participation, including exploration, discovery and recording of science content. These findings will be discussed in relation to the design of CS projects and the engagement of diverse audiences with CS.