On Friday at the museum we are all rushing to finish various tasks before the big holiday weekend. My colleague Lindzy comes by and says, “Hey, Rik, do you have a sec for a nature moment on the balcony?” I walk out to the balcony of our floor facing the ball field behind the …
I seriously regret that I didn't have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout as a young person. They seem to get to much cooler stuff than their boy counterparts. According to their website, Girl Scouts has a strong emphasis on building STEM skills in young women: We introduce Girl Scouts of every age to …
iNaturalist is already a "must have" app for nature lovers. Using iNaturalist, anyone can take a picture of any living creature they find in the wild, provide whatever information they know about it, and get help identifying it from professional and amateur scientists. It's a dead simple way for anyone, anywhere to contribute to science. …
Check out this adorable science music video by the California Academy of Science’s teen volunteers! What’s a pterosaur? Let’s the TASC Force kids show you in this sweet “Shape of You” parody video. Awesome job, TASC Force! Original lyrics written and performed by the TASC Force teens. Check out the last TASC Force music video “All …
Just reminding myself that the March for Science did not end on April 22. I'm rededicating myself to continuing to advocate for science, rational public discourse, fact-based policy making, and protecting our little blue ball for future generations.
For one of our science lessons, I had to create a satellite out of recycled materials. Here's my beautiful creation. I named it POPTART, which (of course) stands for "Planetary Observer for Potentially Tasty And Rad Treats." I'll let myself out…
Yesterday my colleague Po and I conducted a really fun photo shoot with three of our Careers in Science interns at the Cal Academy: Citlally, Joel and Jazara. They were as energetic, game, and charismatic as I hoped they would be. We got some nice shots! I love my new job at the Cal Academy. …
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of going on a cool tour of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant in San Francisco. Visiting a water treatment plant might not seem like the most fun thing to do on a weekend, but the tour was actually quite crowded with several couples, families, and interested individuals like …
Today is the one year anniversary of my transition over to the Science Action Club as the Senior Instructional Design Lead. It honestly feels like six months that I've been in this new role, which I am still figuring out. Every day I'm learning something new, exploring new tools, unfamiliar science topics, and new approaches …
The Science Action Club team that I'm a member of is seeking to hire an instructional designer. It's a great job, on a great team, at a great museum. If you are a bad ass instructional designer who loves science, you should consider applying. More about the position: Reporting to the Science Action Club (SAC) …