Dozen NC teachers set to explore Yellowstone with Museum of Natural Sciences

June 16, 2025

Snow moving in over the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Forget Dutton Ranch. This summer, a dozen science educators from across North Carolina will experience the natural world like never before as part of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Yellowstone Institute.

From June 18 to 26, Museum educators will lead a select group of teachers through Yellowstone — America’s first national park — as they study wildlife ranging from gray wolves to grizzly bears. These teachers also will study the park’s unique geology, learn about the role of fire in natural ecosystems, and discuss conservation and environmental issues similar to those faced in North Carolina.

It is the Museum’s goal that each participating educator returns to their classroom renewed in their passion for teaching, full of new information to enliven the curriculum, excited to share their Yellowstone experience with their students, and eager to highlight all the connections to our wonderful state of North Carolina. You can follow their travel blog at educatorsofexcellence.org/category/yellowstone

Yellowstone Institute Participants:

  • Ashley Huygens, Bitz Intermediate School, Onslow County
  • Richard Kowaleski, Oberlin Magnet Middle School, Wake County
  • Misty Morgan, Catawba Elementary School, Catawba County
  • Fred Pfeiffer, Lakewood Montessori Middle School, Durham County
  • Wendi Pillars, Silk Hope School, Chatham County
  • Jen Redfearn, NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Jackson County
  • Diana Johana Romero Silva, North Harnett Primary School, Harnett County
  • Leskisha Sandidge, Harnett Central Middle School, Harnett County
  • Megan Sherrell Turk, Central Park School for Children, Durham County
  • Paige Stanley, Chicod School, Pitt County
  • Heather Watson, North Dublin High School, Duplin County
  • Michelle Wojcuich, Rose Hill-Magnolia Elementary School, Dublin County

The Yellowstone trip is one of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Institutes — along with Mexico and South Africa — which aim to inform and empower educators to teach students about North Carolina’s ecological connections to the rest of the world. More than 900 outstanding North Carolina science educators have participated in these Institutes since 1987.

For more information about our upcoming activities, conservation news and groundbreaking research, follow @NaturalSciences on Instagram and Facebook.

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