This past weekend, I had the honor of MCing a fun panel discussion among educators in three locales in the US on the topic of fostering youth voice in local learning networks. If you are a local educator and looking for ways to better serve your youth community, I recommend that you check out the…
Category: Science
Speaking at DML2014 in Boston Next Week!
The Digital Media and Learning conference is one of my favorite professional events of the year. DML gathers several hundred of the leading practitioners, researchers and supporters of the field of digital learning for an intense three days of sharing, discussions, and strategizing. It's like an extended family for me, after many years of participating….
My 2nd Anniversary at the California Academy of Sciences!
It's been a hectic past couple of weeks, so I completely forgot to mention that February 13th was my two year anniversary of working at the California Academy of Sciences! Originally hired as a program assistant in the brand new Digital Learning arm of the museum in 2012, I'm so honored to be the Senior…
Classic Cal Academy Logo from the 2000s and Today
Last week, I managed to score this rare polo shirt during an internal staff "yard sale" — featuring the previous logo for the California Academy of Sciences. Actively in use at least from the late 1990s to the early aughts, the image has a certain playfullness to it, combining our interests in paleontology, marine biology and…
Learn about Biodiversity from the Khan Academy and Cal Academy!
I am super excited about this new digital learning partnership that the California Academy of Sciences has begun with the amazing Khan Academy. For those that don't know, the Khan Academy is an online school where millions of students learn everything from basic math to python programming to art history. All for free! The Cal Academy…
Fly through the History of Everything in “Dark Universe” at the Cal Academy
Tonight I got to see a sneak preview of the new "Dark Universe" planetarium show that is opening at the California Academy of Sciences on January 31st. Produced by the American Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with the Cal Academy, "Dark Universe" explains in stunning visuals and animations the past, present and future of…
Happy Holidays from the Cal Academy’s Macaws
And don't forget to gnaw on the tree bark!
I Work with this Silly Crew
These are some of my coworkers in Youth Programs at the California Academy of Sciences. How lucky am I? Taken at Camp Pepperwood near Santa Rosa, CA.
Five Things Museums Can Learn from Disneyland
In the museum and informal science education field we often place ourselves in opposition to amusement parks and theme parks. My own museum's ED has said to our staff, "we have no pirates" in our museum. From a certain perspective I think that makes sense. Amusement parks as private ventures have as their primary mandate…
My Own Nudibranch Plushie!
I am the proud owner of this chromodoris westraliensis nudibranch, a seaslug stuffed animal. Created by Kelly Markello and Nathalia Chousou-Polydouri, this little guy had stolen my heart when I spotted him at craft fair at work. Kelly and Nathalia had other really cute seaslugs on display, including chromodoris africana and chromodoris annae. Here's what…