Theresa Summer
Theresa Summer
Astronomy Educator
I love being an Astronomy Educator for the ASP. I have worked in science education since 1998, mainly creating programs in planetariums and museums, but also in high school classrooms, teacher trainings and tutoring. I have two Bachelor’s degrees: one in Astronomy and Physics from San Francisco State University; and one in Theater, Education and Empowerment from Eugene Lang College, the New School for Social Research. My astronomical journey led from being the department tutor at City College of San Francisco, to interning at NASA Ames Research Center. I rose from ushering to lecturing at California Academy of Science’s Morrison Planetarium, before directing the programming at the planetarium at Orange Coast College. I had important time at Lawrence Hall of Science and San Francisco State University, before returning to the revamped Morrison Planetarium, where I was involved with opening the new museum and leading the planetarium presenter team. I then taught astronomy, physics, calculus and algebra for English language learners in an International high school for three years, before heading to the ASP.
Here, I have worked on citizen science projects (CosmoQuest), girl scouts (with SETI Institute’s “Reaching for the Stars: NASA Science for Girl Scouts”); amateur astronomers through the Night Sky Network and the Megamovie, and now with very young children through “My Sky Tonight” I totally enjoy meeting all the teachers, librarians, park rangers and all the wonderful people my job enables me to meet. My secret mission in life is to help people to understand that science is not just for crazed geniuses in lab coats, but is for everyone, and is an important part of being an active citizen in today’s world.
