HiSPARC is a very successful outreach project for high school students to participate in real research on cosmic rays. In Holland there are about 100 schools participating and many more on the waiting list. The programme has been rolled out in other countries as well.

As part of this project, HiSPARC was rolled out across the wider Bristol area, making use of the existing infrastructure and know-how of Dutch colleagues. HiSPARC is a great example of successful citizen science; i.e. the actual research (the cosmic ray detection) is done by school students themselves. The scientists only facilitate the research and answer questions but do not do any of the data analysis.

Dr Jaap Velthuis (the project lead) has written a learning journal capturing the experience of adopting and adapting HiSPARC to the Bristol area. The journal, which can be accessed below, includes:

• Success factors for the project
• How to engage schools
• Top tips for those who might wish to implement HiSPARC, or a similar citizen science model