Georgia and Ian Jenkins had their clipboards and bug spray ready, so as dusk fell they headed out into the front yard of their home in Fort Washington, Md. 'I'm going to give you a 10-second count,' said their mother, Michelle. As Michelle Jenkins counted to 10 while looking at her watch, Georgia, 8, and Ian, 12, jabbed their pens into the air while tracking the little yellow-green lights popping up all over the grassy yard. '... 8 ... 9 ... 10. And stop,' said their mother. 'I saw 14!' said Georgia, who was counting in one part of the yard. 'I saw 11,' said Ian, counting in another. This was the family's first firefly-counting session; they will record their data with Firefly Watch, the national program that is asking people to help track firefly populations in their own yards. The kids signed up after attending a program at the National Children's Museum. Once a week through the summer, they will count how many fireflies they see in a 10-second period, making observations about the evening and the setting. 'What's the wind speed tonight?' Ian asked, as he filled in his Firefly Watch charts. His mother had looked it up online: It's 7 miles per hour, she tells him. The kids' enthusiasm for the project is evident as they record their data. Most bugs 'creep me out,' Georgia said, but not fireflies. 'They're really pretty, beautiful bugs -- well, beetles,' she said, correcting herself. 'And I feel honored to be part of something official,' Ian said. 'A real science experiment.' 