FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lynda LeVan, 423-648-6043, lhl@cdmfun.org
Director of External Affairs
Wayne Robinson Leads Biofuels Outreach at Creative Discovery Museum
(Chattanooga, TN – August 30, 2011) Creative Discovery Museum announces the addition of Wayne Robinson, Ph. D., Ed. S., as Biofuels Coordinator. Creative Discovery Museum was selected by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Georgia’s Education Department to develop and pilot science lessons on biofuels and alternative energy for transportation in 2008. Working with top scientists, engineers and science educators, the Museum created a classroom lesson called “Farming for Fuels” that is presented through the Museum’s school outreach program, Museum-A-Go-Go. Robinson will lead the program which provides lessons by Museum outreach staff for Grades 4-7 on the scientific processes for creating biofuels from switchgrass rather than from corn.
Robinson comes to the Museum with a Ph.D. and an Ed. S. degree in science education from Georgia State University and served as Director of Science Curriculum for Walker County (Ga.) Schools for the past 28 years. Robinson developed and brought many innovative educational programs to the Walker County School System, including but not limited to, the Bug Mobile, a retrofitted school bus “Space Shuttle” and most recently a reconstructed planetarium that will serve the entire North Georgia area. In addition, Robinson has been featured at numerous national conferences and has written for several educational and scientific publications. He currently serves as the President of the Georgia Educational Technology Consortium Board of Directors.
“Wayne brings expertise and unique experience in the field of science education, successful project management and a passion for science education to this position,” said Jayne Griffin, Director of Education at Creative Discovery Museum.
A grant from BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) enabled the Museum to develop curriculum for alternative fuel lessons in collaboration with scientists currently in the field and become an educational model for others in the field. Robinson will represent Creative Discovery Museum in the BESC program in the future. “He is a welcome addition to the excellent staff Creative Discovery Museum already claims and to our valuable partnership with BioEnergy Science Centers (BESC),” said Griffin.
Creative Discovery Museum is the only institution in the United States that has implemented a model biofuels curriculum for elementary age students. For more information on the biofuels program at Creative Discovery Museum, visit www.cdmfun.org.
About Creative Discovery Museum
Creative Discovery Museum is open Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun: noon-5 p.m. 321 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. Creative Discovery Museum is recognized as one of the top children’s museums in the nation. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to educational enrichment for children age’s 4-months to 12-years-old through interactive, hands-on experiences that foster creative and critical thinking. Creative Discovery Museum focuses on a broad range of areas encompassed by Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Technology and the Sciences. In addition to its exhibits, Creative Discovery Museum provides local residents and visitors with special events, educational programming, teacher resources for the classroom, field trips, after school programming, early childhood education classes, artist residencies, camps, art lessons, science demonstrations, and a branch of the local library. Creative Discovery Museum is a funded agency of Allied Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
About BESC
At the Department of Energy Bioenergy Science Center, a cross-disciplinary team of world-leading experts are working together to make revolutionary advances in understanding and overcoming the recalcitrance of biomass, making it feasible to displace imported petroleum with ethanol and other fuels. In forming BESC, leading researchers from institutions across the United States were recruited to establish a team that brings an unprecedented breadth and depth of expertise to the challenge.
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