Lynn Rankin Director of the Institute for Inquiry Lynn began her teaching career as an elementary teacher in the San Francisco public schools. She was captivated by “hands-on science” when she brought her sixth grade class to the Exploratorium and observed the kind of enthusiasm for learning and curiosity she had been trying to cultivate in her classroom. She joined the Exploratorium staff in 1975. Since then, she has developed science and professional development curricula; led workshops for students, teachers, and professional developers; and has been involved in program design. She helped found and served on the faculty of the Association of Science and Technology Centers’ Professional Development Institutes for museum educators. She serves on the faculty of the Center for Informal Learning and Schools, a collaboration between the Exploratorium, King’s College, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She served on the Committee on the Development of an Addendum to the National Science Education Standards on Scientific Inquiry, and on the National Institute for Science Education’s Committee on Professional Development. Marilyn Austin Senior Science Educator Marilyn Austin, Teacher-in-Residence, joined the Institute for Inquiry staff after twenty-six years of teaching elementary school. She has taught science inquiry workshops for Marin County Office of Education and has offered Exploratorium technical assistance in Marin County elementary schools. She collaborates on programs and workshops with IFI teaching staff. Patrick Dowd Senior Science Educator Patrick Dowd’s research background focused on how informal and formal contexts impact science learning. As a fellow with the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS), he explored how environmental topics are taught and understood in informal environments such as field centers and museums. His doctoral thesis examined the link between science educators’ environmental identities and their practice in enacting an effective outdoor science education curriculum. His investigations took place at three field centers in the UK and at two science schools in the US that examined the narratives environmental educators’ used to describe themselves and their environment, and how these descriptions impacted their teaching practice. The study consisted of a mixed methodological approach using semistructured interviews, questionnaires, and field observation methods. Previously, Patrick worked as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Davis for ten years. Paula Hooper Senior Science Educator, Learning Research Scientist Paula holds a PhD in Media Arts and Sciences with a focus on epistemology and learning with digital media. She has been an elementary classroom teacher; has worked on the design and teaching of inquiry-oriented science professional development experiences for K-8 teachers, administrators and museum educators; and worked with youth in informal settings on robotics and using digital design fabrication for their creative activism. Her research and teaching addresses uses of digital media to support STEM learning in both informal and formal learning settings from a sociocultural perspective. She is also interested in the design and facilitation of online communication and cyberlearning projects that complement STEM professional development. Paula has worked for TERC, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Shaker Heights public schools. She has served on advisory boards for Science Museum of Minnesota and the Technology Committee of the American Educational Research Association, and was a Warren Weaver Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation. Fred Stein Senior Science Educator Fred was the Education Director at the Science Discovery Museum in Acton, Massachusetts, before joining the Institute for Inquiry staff. In addition to teaching high school biology and math, he has developed curricula, taught distance learning courses, and pre-service science methods courses. Fred holds an EdD from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Collaborators Bronwyn Bevan Associate Director, Exploratorium Center for Learning and Teaching. Bronwyn Bevan is the Associate Director of the Exploratorium Center for Learning and Teaching. Her projects include Director of the NSF-funded CLT, Center for Informal Learning and Schools; co-principal investigator on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory educational outreach project; co-principal investigator on the Coalition for Science After School project; and leader of the Center for Informal Learning and Schools' Informal Learning Certificate professional development program for museum educators. Her main area of interest is supporting teacher practice, student learning, and curricular design through the development of relationships between formal and informal institutions. Bronwyn worked for the Education Development Center, Inc., for four years where she conducted classroom-based research on teacher-artist partnerships, as well as institutional development between schools and cultural institutions. Barry Kluger-Bell Assistant Director for Science at the Institute for Inquiry Barry holds a Ph.D. in physics. Barry became involved with inquiry-based education in 1971 when he worked as a research educator with David Hawkins at the Mountain View Center in Boulder, Colorado. He is the author of The Exploratorium Guide to Scale and Structure: Activities for the Elementary Classroom, published in 1995 by Heinemann Press. More recently, Barry provided technical assistance to WGBH’s Investigating Classrooms video project and is on the advisory board for WNET’s Learning Science Through Inquiry workshops. He also served on an advisory panel for CPB/Annenberg’s video project for teaching science content to teachers. Karen Wilkinson Science Educator Karen is a science educator for the Institute for Inquiry and project director for the Learning Studio at the Exploratorium. Of particular interest is the functional design of learning environments (on the internet and in the real world) to foster creative thinking and inquiry learning. She is currently developing curriculum intended to blur the lines between science and art education. Mike Petrich Science Educator Mike is a science educator for the Institute for Inquiry and co-director of the Learning Studio at the Exploratorium.  He is currently developing curriculum that allow learners to build ideas for themselves through the use of new digital technologies. Of particular interest are activities that combine the use of new digital technologies with current and familiar technologies like hand tools, art materials, electronic components and everyday objects.