A few years ago, beachgoers in Hawaii began noticing something strange. White letters and numbers were engraved on the shells of sea turtles swimming along the coast. Some were frightened. They figured someone had tagged the turtles with graffiti and began filing reports.
They didn't know the markings had been placed there by federal scientists. NOAA biologists had been using a small rotary tool, like the ones used by nail technicians, to painstakingly etch alphanumeric codes onto turtle shells to track turtle migration. The etchings were then painted white for visibility from a distance. It’s a painless process that’s been around for decades, and, according to NOAA, many turtles sleep through it.
But NOAA didn’t just issue a press release and leave it at that. They did something smarter. They turned that public concern into a citizen science program.
