The Aquarium of the Pacific and its Marine Conservation Research Institute (MCRI) recognized the importance of citizen science and wanted to provide a venue where local citizen science volunteers, practitioners, and scientists could come together to discuss their work. The Citizen Science for Conservation in Southern California (CSCSC) Symposium was created so that people with varying levels of experience who are interested in environmental conservation could come together to share ideas with fellow citizen scientists from diverse programs throughout Southern California; interact with scientists and experts from California and the U.S.; discover new programs and opportunities for citizen science in Southern California; and learn more about citizen science in formal and informal settings.

The CSCSC Symposium is held annually each spring at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. Information about our next symposium, as well as summaries from past symposiums are provided below: