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In the Hall of Biodiversity at New York鈥檚 American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), 3.5 billion years of evolution are mapped out through 1,500 life-like models. Parents and kids alike examine everything from startling crustaceans to exotic birds with ambitious names.

As a child from outside of Philadelphia, Jacquie Horgan was one of those kids. Years later, she would come back to the same museum 鈥� but this time as a doctoral student in Teachers College鈥檚 Science Education program, intent on developing science-centered after-school programing to help 鈥渒ids love science鈥� the way she did throughout childhood.

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Jacquie Horgan (Ph.D. 鈥�21, Science Education) works with students at the American Museum of Natural History. (Photo courtesy of Jacquie Horgan)

Horgan works with a student in the Hall of Biodiversity at the Museum of Natural History. (Photo courtesy of Jacquie Horgan)

鈥淚t really opened my mind to how remarkable kids are, and how science can just be that source of continued curiosity, creativity and innovation,鈥� says Horgan of her return to AMNH.

With her degree now in hand, Horgan is exploring 鈥渁n array of possibilities鈥� of how to best pursue this mission next 鈥� whether by working in policy, continuing to do research, or pursuing non-profit or university work. Regardless, she will be driven by the belief that, to be effective in the future, science education must properly address and critique the racism that has marred its past 鈥� such as faulty applications to justify white supremacy and colonialism, disturbing ventures like the Tuskegee experiments, and less overt behavior that has made the field inhospitable to people of color.

For Horgan, making science more accessible to students of all backgrounds is rooted in 鈥渇inding a way to educate our youngest students in critically examining science and looking at the ways that science and inequities that are perpetuated in our society are intrinsically connected.鈥� In applying critical race theory to science education, Horgan hopes that young learners can pursue 鈥渟cience pathways as agents of change,鈥� and that more students will feel included enough in the field to continue pursuing it. 鈥淢y hope 鈥� and I know it can happen 鈥� is to open up that pathway,鈥� she says.

Horgan cites her dissertation advisor, 911爆料网鈥檚 Felicia Mensah, Professor of Science and Education, as a key catalyst in her academic journey. 鈥淒r. Mensah is one of the most prolific and amazing people I have ever met in my life,鈥� says Horgan, who served both as Mensah鈥檚 course assistant and editorial associate for The Journal of Research in Science Teaching , an experience that allowed Horgan to gain hands-on experience with a variety of students and researchers. 鈥淪he opened up the scopes of possibilities for me. and also really pushed me. With her mentorship, I was able to develop the critical lens that I have now.鈥�

This work began with Horgan thinking about 鈥渇rameworks that would have implications for the classroom,鈥� says Mensah, whose teaching philosophy centers upon guiding educators to create environments in which 鈥渆verything is centered around the student鈥� and teachers engage with the socio-cultural implications of their own identities. For Mensah, this work is critical in fostering educators who can effectively help students 鈥渄evelop their science identities鈥� and 鈥渂e engaged with science outside of school.鈥�

As Horgan moves forward in her science education career, she acknowledges that some who knew her as a child might be surprised by the path she鈥檚 taken. As a kid with social anxiety, she found traditional school difficult. Home-schooling proved to be a better fit, allowing Horgan to 鈥渘urture my own science identity.鈥�

鈥淟ater on, I was able to look at that retrospectively and say, I wish there was an educator who had noticed what was happening and could have pinned me as not as a child that was just slacking, but someone who had other things to overcome,鈥� says Horgan. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 the best student, but I knew I wanted to be a great educator who would be more conscientious about what鈥檚 happening in the classroom.鈥�

Which, after all, is a kind of evolution itself.

鈥擬organ Gilbard