Citizen science projects are activities sponsored by a wide variety of organizations so non-scientists can meaningfully contribute to scientific research.
Activities vary widely from transcribing old ship logbooks to digitize the data as part of the Old Weather project to observing and counting birds at home or in the field for eBird.
[1][2] Participation can be as simple as playing a computer game for a project called Eyewire that may help scientists learn more about retinal neurons.
There are projects specifically aimed at the younger age demographic like iTechExplorers[7] which was created by a 14 year old in the UK to assess the effects of bedtime technology on the body's circadian rhythm and can be completed in a classroom setting.
Outcomes: (1) eBook: 'Those Who Suffer Much, Know Much' 2010 http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/104801/20100925-0000/2010.pdf (2) Spurred significant increase in scientific research into LDN (low dose naltrexone) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22low-dose+naltrexone%22%5BALL+FIELDS%5D+NOT+(dependence%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(dependent%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(oxycodone%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(withdrawal%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(cocaine%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(morphine%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(itch-related%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(drinking%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(alcohol%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(cigarette%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(smoker%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(smoking%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(smokers%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(nicotine%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(detoxification%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(gambling%5BTitle%5D)+NOT+(self-biting%5BTitle%5D)