Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
Museum/NASA Educator
- Designed and implemented public programs for the museum
- Designed and implemented field trips for students Pre-K through 12th Grade
- Designed and implemented family workshops at the museum
- Coordinated and facilitated after-school club partnerships with Chicago Public Schools
- Designed and facilitated Outreach programs to local community centers
- Designed and facilitated teacher professional development workshops
- Administered a teacher check-out kit program for local educators
- Contributed to a gap analysis of space science educational materials based on the science literacy benchmarks
Education and Public Outreach Professional
for NASA's Science Mission Directorate
During my time at the Adler Planetarium. I was on the Education and Outreach team for two NASA spacecraft, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. As part NASA Education, I worked on the following projects:
- Designed curriculum for both museums and schools
- Designed and implemented teacher professional development programs
- Managed national networks of educator communities
- Built and facilitated relationships between educators and NASA scientists
- Designed and implemented assessments for museum exhibits and programs
- Evaluated NASA education products for best practices in K-12 education
Representing NASA Education
at the National Science Teachers Association Conference
Feedback from educators in programs I designed, administered, managed, or taught...
"Thanks for working with us for the Space Explorers Club. We loved working with the materials. Our students had a chance to learn about the IBEX mission, and do fun and engaging activities relating to IBEX. We have enjoyed working with you, and appreciated your support both during training and afterwards. You were extremely well prepared and organized" - Middle School Science Teacher (Chicago Public Schools)
"After our training, I went home and told my family how impressed I was that you had so much knowledge that you were able to bring down to a level I could understand and bring back to the students. You were able to do the same when you came to work with the students. That is a very difficult thing to do"
- Middle School Science Teacher (Chicago Public Schools)
"You are a fantastic educator and I really appreciated learning from you and having you come out and visit my kids"
- Middle School Science Teacher (Chicago Public Schools)
"Heather is a phenomenal educator. She is detail-oriented. She always has the best interests of her audience in mind, she is a whiz at designing programs for many different audiences (informal education and school-based), and she is a very skilled facilitator and teacher. I would never hesitate to send a student to Heather" - NASA Educator
"After our training, I went home and told my family how impressed I was that you had so much knowledge that you were able to bring down to a level I could understand and bring back to the students. You were able to do the same when you came to work with the students. That is a very difficult thing to do"
- Middle School Science Teacher (Chicago Public Schools)
"You are a fantastic educator and I really appreciated learning from you and having you come out and visit my kids"
- Middle School Science Teacher (Chicago Public Schools)
"Heather is a phenomenal educator. She is detail-oriented. She always has the best interests of her audience in mind, she is a whiz at designing programs for many different audiences (informal education and school-based), and she is a very skilled facilitator and teacher. I would never hesitate to send a student to Heather" - NASA Educator