To touch is to know’: haptic inquiry for primary school citizen science

Drawing on insights from the transdisciplinary project ‘SENSE: Sensory Explorations of Nature in School Environments’, this paper articulates a novel approach that addresses current calls for meaningful participation of children in citizen science activities in schools. We scaffolded more typical data collection activities within diverse digital and natural haptic experiences aimed at developing observational skills through arts and science-based methods, such as clay modelling, digital haptic tree identification and textural mapping exercises of the school grounds. Data were collected in three primary schools in Scotland, through audio and video-recording, and observation notes in the field. Findings showed how incorporating touch focuses attention differently to vision, leading to different scientific questions and inquiries. In effect, touch experiences may serve to balance the aims of citizen science beyond the intentional identification and enumeration of species towards the more taxing, epistemic and ethical questions of ‘who decides what matters in nature observation’ and ‘for whom’ is the learning, as students are invited to participate and contribute on their own terms. Implications for this form of citizen science to open significantly new directions for children’s participation, and make its way into existing teaching practices in schools, are discussed.