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1/14/2021

Mission: Penguins? Week 3 Vote

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Is it time to head to a new island?

Voting for Week 2 will close on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 4PM (EST).  The two locations with the most votes will be where we go in week 3!  Use the buttons below to grab a pdf version of the vote choices to project or share with students or grab a google form to collect student feedback.
Click to Download the pdf
click to get this week's Google form to copy, adapt, and share
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1/14/2021

Mission: Penguin? Comic Tips

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Fun Suggestions for Building Literacy Skills!

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Each week we'll share helpful hints on using the comic across the grade level span.  I'll add each week's tips here so they are easy to find.  If you are new to the comic, be sure to share the backstory of the characters with your students.  You can read that at the top of the comic page or click here to read the backstory and get a pdf version to share with parents!

If you need to share comic videos directly with students you can use these safe video links to do so:
  • Backstory: bit.ly/ComicBackstory
  • Week 1: bit.ly/PenguinComic_1
  • Week 2: bit.ly/PenguinComic_2
  • Week 3: bit.ly/PenguinComic_3

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Week 1
This week's tips work across the grade level span and give you a bit of info about general use of the comics to support literacy.  
Build Prior Knowledge  When used along with the other mission materials, your students will already have some prior knowledge to support comprehension. It is also helpful to ask students what they already know about things like cats and dogs, real and imaginary, or for Week 1, volcanoes and whales to build a web of understanding that can help them understand new ideas.
One document, multiple levels!  Each comic episode supports pre-readers to upper level second grade readers.  The graphic format encourages all readers to stretch their abilities by tackling juicy words and big concepts!  
  • Pre-readers can read the pictures to tell the story.
  • Typical kindergarten readers can work to sound out the sound effects.  It's way more fun than reading lists of nonsense words!
  • First graders are likely to find success reading speech and thought bubbles.
  • The text boxes at the bottom of the comic will give most second graders something to chew on!

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Click to download mini flip chart
Week 2
Pre K:  Pre-readers can build skills as they "read the pictures"  of the comic.  Encourage students to use dramatic story language and sound effects.  Print the little book format and support children as needed to find the front cover and turn pages one at a time.
Kindergarten:  Focus on those tricky short vowel sounds using the sound effects this week!  Change the short vowel sounds in these words to create your own sound effects! 
a: lap
i: pip, hiss
o: pop, blop, zop
u: zup
Download, print, and assemble our sound substitution mini flip chart for more fun!
First Grade:  This is the time of year when some children start to zoom ahead in reading while others are taking their time with early reader books as they build a strong foundation at their own pace.  Try using the comic for a readers theater!  Those zoomers can read the text boxes, your foundation builders can do sound effect, kiddos in the middle can read the speech bubbles and EVERYONE can feel successful as they work on fluency and phrasing!
Second Grade:  You may notice we've snuck a few tricky words into the text boxes.  Your students can begin to integrate their use of context cues to puzzle out some of that richer vocabulary!  This is also a great way for those clever advancing readers to begin to work on making inferences!  Why does Data Dog need to be careful?  Why is there a smell of rotten eggs?  ​

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Week 3

Pre K
:  Young children can benefit from reading expressions.  Noticing the feelings conveyed in the illustrations will help build the foundation for drawing inferences.  Have your students tell you how the characters feel in each frame and why they think they feel that way.  What evidence can they point to in the pictures to support their opinions?  


Kindergarten:  Playing with words by substituting phonemes at the beginning, middle, and end of words helps both reading AND spelling skills.  Before you introduce the comic, take a moment to play!  Write "zoom" on a whiteboard.  After children read it, erase the /m/ and challenge children to make other sound effects by adding different final sounds!  You can follow the same protocol with "zup," this time changing the middle phoneme or vowel sound.  
Medial phoneme substitutions: /z/ /u/ /p/ to /z/ /o/ /p/
Final phoneme substitutions: /z/ /oo/ /m/ to /z/ /oo/ /p/
First Grade:  Now that your students are more established readers, it might be a good time to focus on reading with inflection.  Challenge students to notice the end punctuation in each speech or thought bubble.  How would the character say those words?  Using voices for each character can further reinforce this skill.
Second Grade:  Some of the text boxes give facts and information while others describe the action in the frame or something out of view.  Have students identify which type of text is in each box.  You can color code them and then have teams assigned for choral reading for a specific text type! 

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1/14/2021

Scientific Process

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A rose by any other name...

​Scientists call it the scientific method.  The National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) promotes the term scientific process.  We like to call it the most powerful tool ever invented!  No matter how you brand it, this process is the pathway to finding an emergent truth.  A process for determining facts.
​As we were creating The Science Song, we had to make discussions about terminology.  Best practice dictates that we support students and teachers in understanding not only the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards but also the process of doing science.   The NSTA moved away from the term method and towards the term process to help teachers understand that the time tested method for doing science and moving towards the emergent truth is not lock step or strictly linear.  
At any time during the process scientists might revise, circle back, or even abandon a line of inquiry all together.  Furthermore, this way of thinking can be applied beyond science to support evidence based decision making in many aspects of life.  To help you support your students in learning the components of this process, we've got some bonus materials to help you out! ​

​We have a series of mini posters that you can print and use any number of ways.  You could make a jaunty two sided pennant banner by double side printing the posters on card stock, then attaching the posters to a sting or ribbon.  Alternately you could bind it into a book and have children turn the pages and sing along to The Science Song! 
Download Science Process Mini Posters
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​Print and fold this little journal that outlines the scientific process and slips inside a pocket so budding science thinkers can take notes on the go.  If you've not folded this type of book before, check out the instructional video I found on Youtube.  Hopefully one or more of these tools will help you engage your students in process thinking!
Download Science Process Pocket Journal
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​We've also created some bonus journal pages for students to use during the mission or to structure their own inquiry.  Big thanks to 
Super Teacher, Kristen Tedesco of Maine for her idea!  She wanted her second graders to be able to follow the process along in their Go2Science journals!
Download Science Process Journal Pages

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1/14/2021

Mission: Penguin? Lesson Ideas

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Tips for Adapting Lessons for Distanced and Remote Learners!

Each week, we provide two new lesson opportunities.  Some will be very easy to adapt to a distanced classroom setting while others may require a bit more thinking.  We're here to help with that!  Remember, you can skip any lessons you choose and still provide your students with a great mission experience.  Even under normal conditions, it is rare that a class does EVERY lesson associated with a mission, so be kind to yourselves.  Less really can be more!

That being said, I'll add to this page weekly so you can find adaptation ideas for the lessons you DO choose to do. ​

Day 1: To the Galapagos
In person with distancing: This lesson sets the stage for the mission with a mapping activity as well as setting up data collection protocols.  Your existing protocols for handling papers should be all the modification needed.
Remote learning:  Use tools like Google Maps to support your online discussion.  Share pdf maps, journal pages, and data collection pages through your learning management system so students can access them digitally!
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Day 2: Sounds Different
​In person with distancing: For the opening demo, use the variation where you are the one touching the string.  Use gloved hands and/or sanitize between students.  Students will be able to work in socially distanced pairs by providing a longer length of string and taking turns attaching objects.  Each partner holds one end of the string to their ear.  They can swing the object to tap it against a desk or chair leg.
Remote:  This is a great raid the recycling bin sort of activity.  The materials, even for the bonus design challenge, are flexible and easily scavenged.  The only must have item is some sort of string or yarn.  After introducing the lesson during a class session or though your learning management system, have students complete the challenge and report out with videos  or during your next class session.
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Day 3: Beaks, Beaks, Beaks
​In person with distancing: Provide each student their own baggie of "food" to have at their designated workspace.  If possible gather enough "beaks" for each student to have one.  Have students work with gloved hands, or sanitize hands and "beaks" before trading them with a partner.
Remote:  Encourage students to gather their own materials at home!  Challenge them to get creative with the different types of "beaks" they gather or assemble.  Remind them to ask their adults before using any food or small objects for this activity.  After students explore independently at home, gather for a group discussion or share reflections on your LMS.  Be sure to talk about how the different "beaks" and "foods" they gathered may have produced different results!
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Day 4: Same and Different
​In person with distancing: This lesson has students assemble and compare life-size animal posters.  Instead of working in collaborative groups, share page seven of the lesson with students so they can complete the Venn diagram portion of the activity by comparing the animal outlines.  If time and space permit, students can assemble their own six page life size penguin puzzles.
Remote:  If students are able to print at home, a life size animal poster could become a wonderful family project.  Share a link to download the posters!  Alternatively, have students use the images on page seven of the lesson as a reference as you collaboratively create your triple Venn diagrams.  The life-size animal posters are also visible in Mobile Headquarters and Virtual Mobile HQ slides so those images could also be used to complete the Venn diagrams.
Click to Access Virtual Mobile HQ slides
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Day 5: Blubber (La Loberia)

​In person with distancing
: Have students sanitize their hands prior to trying the blubber glove.  Consider having students bring materials from home to construct their insulating alternative.  Provide a collection of additional materials for students who were not able to bring things from home.  If needed (to ensure social distancing) students can work independently rather in teams.

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Remote:  Send the blubber glove assembly directions home to adults.  If they are unable to construct a glove, demonstrate the use of a blubber glove during your class meeting or with a video on your LMS.  Then challenge students to create two or more insulating designs as described in the lesson and compare them to find the most effective solution.  Encourage them to be creative in their materials choices and use what is on hand.  Remember to check the recycling bin too!
Day 6: Relative Abundance
(The Rookery)

In person with distancing: This card game can be modified to play at individual desks by splitting up the draw pile so each student has their own.  Instead of trading cards with one another, students can select from their face up discards or face down draw cards when they roll a “T.”  To simplify things further, have just one die and all students adapt their cards based on each roll of the die.
Remote:  To keep printing to a minimum, families who are able to print the game cards, boards, and die at home can print just a single game board.  If it is impossible to get game parts to students, focus on the ELA integration instead as this can be done without any special materials.  
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1/14/2021

Mission: Penguin! Field Video Links

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Share content though your learning management system

Each week, we'll post links to field videos on this page so you can push them to student devices or post to your learning management system without having to set up accounts or passwords for your students.

The internet is a wonderful way to explore the world, but kids need to be safe!  That's why we're sharing links for our videos via Video.link
 to support your distance learning this mission!  You can send parents here to collect the links or copy and paste them and share via the platform of your choice.  The videos are also visible by clicking on the video thumbnail.   To ensure kids' safety, we advise teacher and parents not to share this page directly with your young students if they are unsupervised.  Children should also be supervised if watching videos or livestreams directly on the site.  ​
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Hypothesis Video
Hypothesis
Dr. Steinfurth wants us to find out if there are undiscovered penguin colonies on any of the islands in the Galapagos archipelago. While we are there, she'd also like us to to keep track of the animals we see. We need your help!

link: 
https://bit.ly/PenguinHypothesis
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Day 1: Galapagos Bound!
Beth and Curtis travel to the Galapagos Islands. They are excited to test Dr. Steinfurth's hypothesis about penguins!
​link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo1
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Day 2: The Search Begins!
​Curtis and Beth take to the water in search of penguins. There are so many amazing animals to see!

​link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo2
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Day 3: Puerto Chino
Curtis and Beth visit Puerto Chino today! They discover a very famous bird...but is it the one they're seeking? Come along and find out!
link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo3
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Day 5: La Loberia
Join Curtis and Beth as they investigate a very interesting animal on the way to La Loberia! They find a feather floating in the water, but is it evidence of penguins?
link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo05
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Day 4: Punta Carola
​Curtis and Beth check out another beach on San Cristobal and meet LOTS of babies! What kind of babies were they? Did they find evidence of penguins?
link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo4

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Day 6: The Rookery
Curtis and Beth explore the Rookery on San Cristobal island as they search for evidence of penguins. Along they way, they find a creature that sneezes salt!  How interesting!
link: bit.ly/PenguinFieldVideo06

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1/14/2021

Mission: Penguins? Livestream Archives

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​Need to share livestream archives with students?

This is the place!  At the end of each livestream day, we'll select one session to archive and post it on our archive page AND post safe links here.

If your students are working remotely and you need to share our livestream archives with them, simply grab the link and share it through your learning management platform.  Each bit.ly link takes students to a video.link (formerly Safe YouTube) version of the archive. This version eliminates related content and other possible distractions.  If you need an alternate format, please drop us a line at Curious@Go2Science.com ​and we'll do our best to accommodate!  
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Day 1 Livestream
Beth and Curtis kick off the winter mission.  Join them in mobile head quarters for a motion break, vocabulary building, and lots of awesome student questions!
Safe Link: bit.ly/PenguinLIVE01
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Day 2 Livestream
Join Beth and Curtis in Mobile HQ for a rather soggy motion break! Plus there's a word breakdown, new field video, and lots of awesome student questions!
​Safe Link: bit.ly/PenguinLIVE02
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Day 3 Livestream
Join Curtis and Beth in mobile headquarters as they talk about the latest field video! Learn about Darwin's Finches, sea lions, and more. There are lots of interesting student questions and some great thinking about the evidence! As always, there is a motion break and word break down.
Safe Link: bit.ly/PenguinLIVE03
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Day 4 Livestream
Curtis and Beth are back in mobile headquarters to answer your questions, learn new words, get the wiggles out AND learn about the most powerful tool ever invented!  There is lots of fun, motion, and learning.
Safe Link: bit.ly/PenguinLIVE04

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1/13/2021

Go2Science is Growing!

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​Go2Science triples the number of classrooms using its unique approach to science learning

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Cushing, Maine — Go2Science, a web-based educational program, has enjoyed significant growth throughout Maine in 2020, as remote learning has increased the need for teachers to have engaging virtual content ready for their students. 

Launched in 2017, Go2Science makes it possible for teachers and parents, regardless of their science background, to use highly engaging, real-life science explorations to motivate young students in learning across disciplines. All they need is a computer and an internet connection.
Increasingly, educators are realizing the value of science instruction in the early elementary years. Not only does it lay the foundation for future science learning but, when integrated across the curriculum, it also has an impressive impact on literacy and math achievement. When schools rapidly transitioned to remote learning in the spring, teachers using Go2Science felt they had a leg up. 
 
Today, a growing number of PreK-2 homeschoolers and classrooms across Maine including the state's largest school districts, Lewiston and Portland have subscribed to this creative and engaging program. Districts such as RSU 2 and MDI were early adopters and quickly saw the value and quality of the program. The Perloff Family foundation was another early and ardent supporter, providing subscriptions to teachers across Maine, and also donating 3-D printers to the classrooms that brings a physical component to the instruction. 
 
Kristen Tedesco, a 2nd grade teacher at Lyseth Elementary School in Portland relied heavily on Go2Science when her school closed due to the pandemic. ​
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“Remotely, Go2Science was a game changer in my classroom! My students and I would have been lost without it! When they [my students] learned of a new mission starting, students who had not been participating remotely became active daily. They were coming BECAUSE OF Go2Science!”
Susan Williams, the Director of Instructional Support and Educator Effectiveness at Lewiston Public Schools considers Go2Science an “awesome resource.”  
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“Even when the schools in our very high-needs community [in Lewiston] were not facing the challenge of engaging learners during a pandemic, time for science instruction in our elementary schools would take a back seat to the time needed for core literacy and math skills. Having access to Go2Science has allowed teachers of our youngest students to connect science concepts with literacy and technology as they 'travel' the world to see and experience environments and phenomena the way scientists do. The high-quality, kid-friendly videos and resources provide much-needed support for teachers as they plan for remote learning, and the excitement and anticipation each mission brings helps build community and conversation among learners in any learning setting." 
The Go2Science team is striving to get their program implemented into classrooms nationwide. This winter, they will explore the Galapagos Islands looking for penguins, then, in the spring, travel to Namibia for a wildlife survey.  In the fall, Go2Science will launch a research mission right here in Maine! 
 
ABOUT:
Go2Science was co-founded by longtime Maine residents Curtis Bentley, a scientist and attorney, and Beth Heidemann, an award winning teacher. Their goal is to create a paradigm shift in how science is taught in early elementary that could be used by anyone no matter where they live.
​

Go2Science provides:
  • High quality science learning that supports literacy and math.
  • Thoughtful, transformational use of technology that inspires hands on learning.
  • Support for project based learning without hours of teacher training and planning time.
  • Flexible materials that meet the needs of diverse learners 
    in diverse settings. 
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To learn more about Go2Science or join upcoming adventures, visit Go2Science.com.

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1/7/2021

Quality Questions

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Quality Over Quantity!

We love answering student questions!  We know most kids love asking questions too.  We've all known the child, however, who gets so excited questions they begin to ask questions indiscriminately.  Our livestream sessions offer a great opportunity to focus on asking thoughtful questions.  Here are some tips to help students ask fewer, but higher quality questions.
  1. After a student asks a question have them reflect on in for a moment.  Is that question answered in the field video?  Can they find the answer easily somewhere else?  If so, awesome!  They do not need to ask it during the livestream.  Celebrate the fact that they can find their own answers to questions.
  2. Does anyone else in the class have a similar question?  If so, partner those students to create one stronger question for the livestream!
  3. Is their question helpful for the hypothesis or to understand a topic related to the hypothesis?  Will asking it help them evaluate the evidence better or count the animals more accurately?  If not, how can they revise it to be more useful?  Again having teams of students work to craft questions is a great way to focus on quality and clarity over quantity!
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Check out some of the awesome student questions that came our way during this week's livestream sessions!

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1/7/2021

Mission: Penguins? Week 2 Vote

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Help direct the mission by voting!

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Voting for Week 2 will close on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 4PM (EST).  The two locations with the most votes will be where we go in week 3!  Use the buttons below to grab a pdf version of the vote choices to project or share with students or grab a google form to collect student feedback.
Click to download the pdf
click to get this week's Google form to copy, adapt, and share
Check out last week's vote post for directions on using the google form

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1/3/2021

Mission: Penguin? Week 1 Vote

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Help direct the mission!

Download the pdf or share the poll below, then use the info below to help you analyze the photos.  
​Galapagos penguins tend to be found most often along the shore in habitats with:
  1. Rocks that they can climb onto to get out of the water to rest. They sometimes walk up on sandy beaches too.
  2. Sheltered places where they can get out of the hot sun or make a nest that will protect the eggs from the sun, rain, wind, and predators. Sheltered places include, but are not limited to, areas in and around piles of rocks, holes and large cracks in rocks large enough for a penguin to crawl into, small caves, and overhanging banks along the shore.
  3. Places where there is deep, cold water close to shore.
Your students will have the chance to direct our field research through voting about where we go and what we do!  Each week we'll provide a map and photos of locations we could look the following week as we test our hypothesis.  Giving students voice a choice in the mission is a great way to increase engagement and motivation!  Each subscriber gets one vote!  Many teachers will use the vote as a class discussion or persuasive writing prompt as they build consensus and decide how to cast their vote!

Voting for Week 1 will close on Thursday, January 7, 2021 at 4PM (EST).  Use the button below to grab a pdf version of the vote choices to project or share with students.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF
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​Distance Learning Help!

click to get this week's Google form to copy, adapt, and share
​Google forms are a handy way to remotely engage with students.  Each week, we'll provide an interactive form you can copy and share with students to get their feedback on the vote!
If you choose to use our google form with your students, be sure to MAKE A COPY and not send the link shared via our button or your responses will be viewable by all and you won't be able to easily see your student answers.
​If you need directions about how to make a copy of the google form, check out the bottom of our previous blog post (click here) for step by step directions! ​​
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    Meet Beth and Curtis!

    Presidential Award-Winning teacher and hula hoop fanatic, Beth loves bringing real world science to kids! Beth is fascinated by engineering challenges, technology, and outdoor learning spaces. After 25 years teaching kindergarten, she’s excited to share her passion and experience on-line with classrooms from around the world!

    Curtis is a lot of things: a scientist, lawyer, explorer, drummer and Ironman. His brain is always churning. His paleontological finds are in museums across the country and he even has an extinct sea turtle named after him. He loves traveling the world and immersing himself in new environments and cultures. Curtis finds joy in sparking the imagination of young learners and making them think in new ways.

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