Biography:Doug Peltz
Doug Peltz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Known for | Mystery Science Mediterranean red bug |
| Spouse(s) | Carrie Peltz[1] |
Doug Peltz, popularly known as Mystery Doug, is an American science communicator and entrepreneur based in San Francisco . He is best known as the host of the weekly science show Mystery Doug, and as the co-founder and one of the voices behind the popular science curriculum Mystery Science, a science program used in 50% of U.S. elementary schools and recently acquired by Discovery Education.[2] Mystery Science answers questions that viewers ask through activities and experiments.
Early Influence
| “ | ”I had always loved science from the time I was a kid. I thought the only career path once I got to college was to become a scientist, that's what everyone tells you ... When I got to college, I figured that science explanation would be so much better because now the scientists themselves would be teaching you. It turns out they're even worse at explaining things so I got really interested in the problem of explaining science. I figured out while I was in college that I wanted to become a teacher and write my own curriculum. | ” |
| — Doug Peltz, Interview with Y Combinator[3] | ||
Career
As a naturalist, Peltz was the first to discover that the Mediterranean red bug had migrated to North America.[4][5]
He has long appeared in various news outlets to explain and discuss natural phenomena, such as 2010 fireball over Irvine on NBC News and in the Orange County Register.[6][7] In 2020,he also interviewed NASA astronaut Jessica Meir about what it's like living aboard the International Space Station[8] and appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss how families were navigating the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
In 2013, he as well co-founded Mystery Science with Keith Schacht. Mystery Science is an open-and-go standards-aligned curriculum with hands-on applications, phenomena-based instruction, and written assessments.[10] Interviews with Y Combinator, one their investors, detailed an unconventional business model in which the company sold to schools and districts across the United States without a sales team.[11][12]
In October 2017,he launched an initiative titled Eclipse America in which he partnered with Google to provide free eclipse glasses and lessons to teachers in classrooms.[13][14][15] Peltz's business endeavors have been featured by Forbes [10] and the Wall Street Journal.[16]
Peltz elaborates on his unique approach to answering children's questions in an interview with Montessori Education[17] and on Game Changers TV.[18]
In October 2020, Peltz joined Discovery Education as Mystery Science became a wholly owned subsidiary; Mystery Science was acquired for $140 million.[19] The science program is now used in more than 50% of elementary schools.[2]
References
- ↑ "Brumback - Peltz". Herald-Whig. 15 July 2005. https://www.whig.com/archive/article/brumback---peltz/article_2c93a258-01e0-5b71-b745-345a9edd2790.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science". Discovery Education. 30 October 2020. https://www.discoveryeducation.com/details/discovery-education-acquires-mystery-science/.
- ↑ "What traction feels like". Y Combinator. 27 November 2017. https://blog.ycombinator.com/keith-schacht-and-doug-peltz-on-what-traction-feels-like-at-yc-edtech-night/.
- ↑ "Red Bug Makes First American Appearance in O.C.". Orange County Register. 2009. https://www.ocregister.com/2009/08/03/red-bug-makes-first-american-appearance-in-oc-2/.
- ↑ Bryant, Peter J (October 2009). "Invasion of Southern California by the Palearctic pyrrhocorid Scantius aegyptius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)". The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 85 (4): 190–193. doi:10.3956/2009-27.1. https://archive.org/details/2009-27.1.
- ↑ "Fireball Spotted Over Irvine…Potential Treasure Hunt?". NBC News. 2010. https://www.randomtidbitsofthought.com/2010/01/12/fireball-spotted-over-irvine-potential-treasure-hunt.
- ↑ "O.C. teacher reports fireball sighting". Orange County Register. 2010. https://www.ocregister.com/2010/01/11/oc-teacher-reports-fireball-sighting.
- ↑ "Mystery Doug Live with Astronaut Jessica Meir". Mystery Science. 21 May 2020. https://mysteryscience.com/live.
- ↑ "Mystery Doug Answers Your Science Questions". Wisconsin Public Radio. 10 April 2020. https://www.wpr.org/people/mystery-doug-peltz.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Mystery Science Helps Teachers Dazzle Their Students With Interactive Science Classes". Forbes. 17 August 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alextaub/2017/08/17/mystery-science-helps-teachers-dazzle-their-students-with-interactive-science-classes/.
- ↑ "Cost vs Quality in Edtech – Keith Schacht, Avichal Garg, and Geoff Ralston". 6 April 2018. https://blog.ycombinator.com/cost-vs-quality-in-edtech-keith-schacht-avichal-garg-and-geoff-ralston/.
- ↑ "Keith Schacht and Doug Peltz on What Traction Feels Like – at YC Edtech Night". 27 November 2017. https://blog.ycombinator.com/keith-schacht-and-doug-peltz-on-what-traction-feels-like-at-yc-edtech-night/.
- ↑ Frederic Lardinois (3 August 2017). "Mystery Science Partners with Google to Bring Eclipse Glasses to Elementary School Students". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/03/mystery-science-partners-with-google-to-bring-eclipse-glasses-to-elementary-school-students.
- ↑ Molly Sequin (3 August 2017). "Google and Mystery Science teamed up to give schools free eclipse glasses". Mashable. https://mashable.com/2017/08/03/google-and-mystery-science-solar-eclipse-glasses.
- ↑ Chris Weller (3 August 2017). "Google is giving away 15,000 pairs of solar eclipse glasses to schools across the US". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/google-giving-kids-glasses-solar-eclipse-2017-8.
- ↑ Ellen Gamerman (2020). "What to Let the Kids Watch When You're All Stuck at Home". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-to-let-the-kids-watch-when-youre-all-stuck-at-home-11584387815.
- ↑ "Coronavirus and Children (with Mystery Doug)". Montessori Education. 15 March 2020. https://www.montessorieducation.com/podcast/coronavirus-and-children-with-mystery-doug.
- ↑ "The Mystery in Science Education". Game Changers TV. 27 December 2014. https://gamechangers.tv/season-1/the-mystery-in-science-education/.
- ↑ Tony Wan (3 November 2020). "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science in $140 Million Deal". EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-11-03-discovery-education-acquires-mystery-science-in-140-million-deal.
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