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 Sue E. Bachus holds a Master of Arts degree in Secondary Science Education and is a Ph.D. candidate in K-12 Science Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a certified Texas secondary teacher in Earth Science and Physical Science. Her objective for teachers is to help them enjoy science and find more ways to teach science in their classrooms.
At The University of Texas at Austin, she was an instructor of Elementary Science Methods for pre-service teachers and was directly involved in the creation of a new integrated science course for undergraduates. At Austin Community College, she taught courses in Physical Science and Marine Science. As faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Arizona State University, she was Director of three, multi-year, grant-funded programs for K-3 and 4-8 teachers. Over the past 19 years, she has consulted at numerous schools and school districts and has trained thousands of K - 8 teachers. Upon returning from Arizona in 1993, Ms. Bachus founded Science Stuff, originally a science education consulting business. Within the first year, she began to order and stock science products and supplies for local teachers. In 1994, she produced her first catalog of science products for central Texas schools and, in 1997, www.sciencestuff.com was created. In addition to a successful internet business, Science Stuff, Inc. now has a successful science retail store. The addition of a classroom in the store has opened up great new possibilities such as hosting school field trips, scout badge work, book fairs, homeschool classes, and teacher workshops. |
 Brett Hart has a Bachelor of Arts degree and almost 20 years of classroom science teaching experience. His experiences include teaching in both public and private schools in Texas and South Dakota. He has, at one time or another, taught each of the grades from 1st through 12th.
In 1995, Mr. Hart founded Science Quest, a unique teaching business which offered hands-on science labs for homeschooled students. Mr. Hart developed and implemented extensive science lab curricula. Over a period of only five years, the program grew to nearly 400 students per week in the Austin metro area. In the fall of 2000, Mr. Hart sold Science Quest and, with his wife Kay, founded C. S. Lewis Hall, a university model private school in Austin. In addition to serving as the school's director, Mr. Hart teaches Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and History of Philosophy. Brett and Kay live in Austin and have four children ranging in age from 17 to 10. |
 Steve LaNore has been a Meteorologist for 19 years. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Texas A&M University in 1985. His career in television has been spent almost entirely in Texas. He worked in both San Antonio and Dallas before moving to Central Texas four years ago. Steve holds the AMS Seal of Approval for television weathercasting and has twice won Associated Press (AP) awards for weathercast excellence.
Over the years, Steve has enjoyed getting youngsters excited about science. He considers it a privilege to be invited into classrooms to share his experiences and knowledge on the subject he enjoys so much. He has lost count, but estimates that he has visited approximately 500 classrooms over the years. Steve comments that if he can have a positive influence on even one young mind, then it's certainly worth it. His goal is to bring his enthusiasm for discovery and a "science is cool" attitude to this summer's Weather Wonders Workshop! Steve's wife Gera is the secretary at a local church. His stepson, Geraed, will be a teenager very soon! |
 As Associate Director of the Lozanov Learning Institute in Dallas, Dr. Miles Jones became a respected international specialist in accelerated learning during the 1980s. In 1990 he was the Head of the English Basic Skills Center of the United Arab Emirates Univ. where he set up a rapid learning program for 2500 students. Since returning to Texas, Dr. Jones taught in Dallas public schools for six years as a classroom teacher, served as Advantage Charter Schools' Direct Instruction Specialist setting up the Oak Cliff Academy in Dallas, and he was Assistant Professor of Education at Texas A & M - Commerce. Dr. Jones now devotes himself to the rapid learning curriculum for children he has developed over decades of research and practice.
Dr. Jones graduated from the Univ. of Texas at Austin with a doctorate in foreign language education specializing in accelerated learning. He has a Master's degree in bilingual education from Antioch University and a Bachelor's in languages and linguistics, also from Antioch. He is the author of numerous texts, tapes, films, and articles on accelerated learning, language acquisition, memory training, literacy, speed-reading, and mathematics. |
 Tim Cole began keeping reptiles and amphibians as a small child. At age 10, he proclaimed to his parents that he was going to study Herpetology. At only 12 years old, he spent the summer catching frogs and lizards in the mountains, deserts, and jungles of Ecuador. At 16 years old, he joined the Chicago Herpetological Society and conducted several educational fund raisers. Mr. Cole later served as Vice President of Chicago Herpetology Society. He traveled the US hunting and studying herps from Michigan's upper peninsula, south to Florida, west to Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. Throughout the years, he has assimilated a herpetological library consisting of over 650 Herpetology books and hundreds of Herpetological papers, journals, and magazines.
Mr. Cole's professional career began in Texas where he worked at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. In 1989, he joined Wildlife Rescue Inc. of Austin and became a licensed Rehabilitator for Texas Parks & Wildlife. In 1993, he became a certified Animal Control Officer. In 2002, he helped to found the Austin Herpetological Society. His company, Austin Reptile Service, has been a main attraction at many Fund Raisers and in 2003 presented the "Look, Touch and Feel" display at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo in Austin. Tim Cole is a well known and respected speaker and presenter. He has conducted numerous safety talks at public and private schools and daycare centers. He teaches a full semester class on reptiles and amphibians as part of the Austin ISD After-School Care program. His safety classes for adults and professional organizations include Animal Control Officers, City, County, and State agency employees, environmental groups, corporate groups, property management, home owners associations, gardening clubs, and scouting organizations. He has been a guest speaker at the Austin Herpetological Society, West Texas Herpetological Society, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Herpetological Society. More... |
Dr. Betsy Carpenter, a Native Texan, was born and reared in Bastrop, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and both her Master of Arts and Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Carpenter is an educator with twenty-five years of experience teaching kindergarten through secondary school. Her professional experience also includes teaching university undergraduate and graduate courses and serving as a school administrator in a Texas charter school. Dr. Carpenter has been an independent consultant for gifted education for twenty years and co-authored the Gifted and Talented Evaluation Scales (GATES). She is the former Director of Mark Rose Environmental Learning Center at McKinney Roughs Nature Park, which is owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority(LCRA) and served as LCRA's Environmental Education Curriculum Director. Dr. Carpenter works as an educational consultant throughout Texas and teaches a math and science methods course in the teacher preparation program at SMU. She serves on numerous state and professional education advisory boards. Dr. Carpenter is committed to maximizing educational opportunities for learners of all ages and abilities. |
Wade Harper was born in England and spent his late childhood and early adulthood in Texas. After college in Florida and a tour of duty in the Navy, Mr. Harper returned to Austin to attend The University of Texas. He holds both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. Mr. Harper is an experienced and highly skilled scientific and engineering researcher and programmer. At Lockheed Martin, he was a specialist in orbital mechanics, mapping, and GPS navigation, as well as a Senior Scientific Programmer. Mr. Harper has been teaching an eclectic range of topics to individuals and groups for over 15 years. He is a professional bagpipe player and instructor, and he is a certified instrument flight instructor for single-engine airplane pilots. In 2001 he completed the three year process of becoming a fully certified Scottish Country Dance instructor. Given his wide variety of interests and talents, Mr. Harper teaches active, fun classes, and he is skilled at tailoring his teaching style to the topic and to the group. |