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Rujanee MahakanjanaIL & IN & WI Lead Teacher: Orbit Earth Expo Rujanee is a producer and director known for her versatility, adaptability, and creative vision. Her diverse background spans architecture, design, fine art, music, teaching, technology, and science, providing her with a unique perspective in her teaching and in life. She holds a BFA in Interior Architecture and an MFA in Studio Art (with an emphasis on Sculpture, Installation, and Performance Art) from Northern Illinois University. When she’s not working, you can find her running by the Lake, enjoying the real Thai food, or watching awesome films like Starship Troopers and Finding Nemo while cuddling with her 4 cats. |
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Tracy CusterVP of Operations Tracy was born in Winston-Salem, NC, and moved to Concord with her parents the day after graduating high school. She was a NC Teaching Fellow at Elon and started her teaching career in CMS, before moving to Concord and earning her MLIS degree from UNC-Greensboro. She retired after twenty plus years as a classroom teacher, school librarian, and technology guru in NC public schools. She was the Orbit Earth Expo lead teacher for the Carolinas from 2015-2019 and is passionate about making earth science accessible for K-8 students. She is married and has two children in their early twenties. When she is not working, she loves to read, play cozy games like Stardew Valley, and spend time exploring her new home, Chicago, with her husband. |
Students journey into space to create and experience the cycles, systems and relationships between the earth, moon and sun using our huge, inflatable Earth model and scale-sized moon. While interacting with the inflatable representations in a darkened gymnasium with a light to represent the sun, students manipulate the models to experience eclipses, seasonal/lunar cycles, creation of winds, day/night cycles, tides, rotation vs revolution, physical characteristics of the earth, moon and sun, gravity, order of the planets, seasons and more! The Orbit Earth Expo Program correlates to the state and grade level science objectives. There are different age-appropriate programs for each grade level.



