Jonathan Frederick Wins Award for Work with the NC Science Festival
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Jonathan Frederick, the director of the North Carolina science Festival has been awarded the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center’s award for informal science education excellence. Mr. Frederick will be recognized at the SMT Center’s gala on April 29 in Raleigh, N.C.
The annual award recognizes an outstanding educator in informal STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in North Carolina.
“Mr. Frederick is a driven and passionate educator,” said CEO and President of the SMT Center Dr. Sam Houston. “He is just as curious and engaged in the learning process as the students he is teaching.”
In 2011 Mr. Frederick was named the director of the North Carolina Science Festival, the first statewide festival of its kind in the nation. The Festival is a multi-day celebration showcasing science and technology. The festival highlights the educational, cultural, and financial impact of science in our state. The Festival provides hands on activities, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits, and performances and engages a wide range of public audiences. This 2017 Festival had more than 700 events attended by hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. And for the first time, Festival events were held in all 100 North Carolina counties.
Mr. Frederick began his career in Tampa as an educator at the Florida Aquarium. In 2001 he moved to North Carolina to develop the first residential environmental education program in North Carolina State Park history. Most recently he served as the science programs manager at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.
Mr. Frederick is a graduate of Penn State University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in biology.
The N.C. Science, Mathematics, and Technology (SMT) Center is focused on improving education as a means of providing all students in North Carolina with the knowledge and skills to have successful careers, be good citizens, and advance the economy of the state. Promoting innovation and change in education, the SMT Center celebrates educational excellence in North Carolina by supporting educators, engaging students, and advancing the growing importance of having a STEM-educated workforce.
Contact: Lisa Rhoades at 919/991-5111 or lrhoades@bwfund.org