With science happening all around us, and everywhere inside us, we can be overwhelmed in how to get started, especially if we’ve ever been made to feel we’re not scientists (as SUNY Geneseo ecology professor Dr. Kristin Hannam likes to point out, all humans are scientists; just watch kids if you need some data to support that hypothesis).
Our model micros show how existing creative works have used science – and how in some cases the science has developed, or how we’ve gotten better, more precise, at communicating it.
Below, we suggest some broad types of resource that might be good starting points for your own scientific discovery as you aim to write creative pieces; we link to some specific locations, but these are just the tip of the iceberg, and we’d love to hear your suggestions
- Scientists researching near you
- Check out Science Near Me, look for a local science museum or center, thinking about local colleges, universities, and middle/high schools. See what your local library lists!
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
- Start with the National Parks Service Indigenous Knowledge pages and with resources that foreground indigenous science practices, such as this page from the Cree Literacy Network. Go to Native Land Digital to identify whose land you are on, and see what organizations and resources, including local experts and cultural centers, share that culture’s scientific knowledge.
- Citizen Science projects
- Start with the Usa.gov Citizen Science site or SciStarter to find local projects; also consult the websites and staff of zoos, science centers, nature centers, and state/national parks. Read more in this NPR article.
- Science journalism/Science nonfiction:
- many wonderful scientists are also wonderful writers, and many wonderful writers work to communicate the research of wonderful scientists. Check out magazines such as Atmos, The Marginalian, Nautilus and American Scientist. While some content will be subscription only – science journalism needs more financial support! – remember that your local library may have a subscription or be able to purchase one. Check out the science nonfiction section in your library and independent bookstores, too.
- If you’re looking for one place to start, we recommend What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson, which collects dozens of different voices and ideas, and is accompanied by videos, podcasts, and other multimedia. This is SUNY Geneseo’s Common Read selection for our Ideas That Matter program 2025-2026.
- Scientific Advisory bodies: numerous organizations exist to make the public aware of both scientific findings and recommended actions given those findings. President Ronald Regan’s administration created the U.S. Global Change Research Program, for instance; until its recent decrease in funding by President Donald Trump’s administration it produced regular National Climate Assessments and was due to produce the first National Nature Assessment. Many other local, state, national, and international advisory bodies regularly publish finding you may want to amplify for readers through creative writing.
- Preprint databases: these store and share early versions of science research articles, before peer review. They are (usually) written for fellow researchers, and you’ll want to spend time at step two verifying the ideas, but they’re a great resource if you love finding knowledge that’s absolutely new to the world.
- Start with Open Access Network, which explains more fully and links to subject-specific databases such as EarthArXiv, for earth science and geology.
If you’re looking to add to this list, start by asking yourself: what’s local? what’s sustainable? what are others working on that you can help amplify?