Executive Director of the Exploratorium
Dr. Dennis M. Bartels, a nationally known science education and policy expert, became Executive Director of the Exploratorium in 2006.
Dr. Bartels holds a PhD in Education Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University. His work has received over $28 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and other sources. His recent high-profile activities in science education and policy include his leadership of an external panel of experts concerning the National Science Foundation’s long-range planning for its precollege science education programs and for its institutional material-and-technology-related education programs. In 2009, he was appointed to the Education Working Group for the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and he was invited to be an advisor to the Bechtel-Gates funded California STEM Innovative Network to develop a blueprint for improving math and science education in California. In June 2010, Dr. Bartels was one of two educators named to the Oceans Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP). In accordance with the Administration’s Ocean Action Plan, ORRAP provides independent advice and guidance to the more than 20 federal agencies of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program.
In March 2006, Dr. Bartels was invited by the Director of the National Science Foundation to serve on the NSF Education and Human Resources Directorate Advisory Committee, and later to sit on the Environmental Research and Education Advisory Committee, which produced the agency’s Green Book. He has testified before committees of both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and before the full House Science Committee concerning the role of the National Science Foundation in K–12 science and math education. He has also been an invited guest and speaker about science and mathematics education in England, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, and China.
He serves on the boards of the Cisco Learning Institute and the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and is Chair of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Science After School.
From 2001 to 2006, Dr. Bartels was president of TERC, a nationally recognized education research and development center known for its innovative curricula, products, and tools for teachers and students in K–12 classrooms. While at TERC, he led the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based organization’s efforts to expand its endeavors in online learning, informal science education, and after-school programming. Prior to 2001, Dr. Bartels directed the Center for Teaching and Learning at the Exploratorium, where he was responsible for the establishment of the Exhibit-Based Teaching Partnerships program in several centers around the world, including Beijing, China.
Dr. Bartels was elected an AAAS Fellow (on Education) for his energetic leadership in systemic science education reform, informal science education, and research and development of innovative mathematics, science, and technology curricula. He was named a Fellow of the International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE) in 2008 and Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April 2009.
The Exploratorium was founded in 1969 by physicist and educator Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, who served as the museum’s director until his death in 1985. From 1991 until 2005, the museum was led by renowned French scientist and educator Goéry Delacôte.
