About Mountain Laurel Museum Education
About Mountain Laurel Museum Education
Mountain Laurel Museum Education helps museums and other cultural institutions turn their expertise into engaging, meaningful experiences for the people they serve.
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I work with museums, historic sites, science centers, zoos, parks and nature centers, botanical gardens, libraries, performing arts organizations, and other informal learning spaces to strengthen educational programs and the systems that support them. That might mean developing a new program from the ground up, rethinking an existing experience, creating curriculum and interpretive materials, training staff or volunteers, or helping an organization identify where its education program should go next.
My approach is practical, collaborative, and grounded in how people actually learn. I believe strong programs should be purposeful without feeling rigid, educational without feeling like school, and engaging without sacrificing substance.
Every organization is different. Some have dedicated education departments and established programs. Others have deep subject-matter expertise and a great idea but need help figuring out how to turn that knowledge into an experience for visitors, students, families, adults, or Scouts. Mountain Laurel meets organizations where they are and helps build what they need. I bring more than two decades of boots-on-the-ground experience—and a practical understanding of the day-to-day realities of how organizations large and small operate—to every project.
At the heart of the work is a simple goal:
Transforming expertise into experiences that inspire curiosity, connection, and lifelong learning.
Meet Laurel!
Meet Laurel!
I fell in love with museum education before I knew it was a career.
It started when I attended an overnight program at Carnegie Science Center as a Girl Scout. I had such a good time that I convinced my troop to go back and volunteer at the overnights. From there, I became a daytime teen volunteer, and when it was time to complete my Girl Scout Gold Award, I created educational activities for those same overnight programs.
Eventually, Carnegie Science Center hired me part-time as an overnight coordinator while I was in college.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, I’ve built a career around helping people connect with museums, history, science, nature, and culture. My work has taken me across science centers, museums, zoos, historic sites, parks, and other informal learning environments.
Along the way, I’ve designed programs for children, families, teens, adults, teachers, and Scouts; developed curriculum and interpretive experiences; trained staff and volunteers; built partnerships; managed programs and budgets; and helped educators become more confident and effective communicators.
I hold an MA in Museum Education from the University of the Arts and a BA in Music Education from Duquesne University, but some of my most important lessons have come from years spent on museum floors, in classrooms, at historic sites, outdoors, behind the scenes, and in rooms full of educators trying to figure out how to make a great idea actually work.
In addition to my professional experience, I have more than a decade of experience as a volunteer with Scouting America. I’ve worn many hats in the organization, including unit leader, district program chair, and Wood Badge staff member and course director. That combination of museum education and Scouting experience gives me a unique perspective when helping cultural institutions develop meaningful programs for Scouts.
My favorite part of informal education has always been the same: taking something an organization knows deeply and finding ways to help someone else care about it by connecting it to their own experiences.
Mountain Laurel Museum Education grew out of that philosophy—and out of more than two decades of doing this work in many different kinds of learning environments.
I’m delighted to now bring that experience to organizations that want to create thoughtful, engaging educational experiences of their own.
Professional Experience Includes
Carnegie Science Center · The Philadelphia Zoo · The Mütter Museum · George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens
National Park Service · Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment
Ready to start a conversation?
Receiving the Silver Beaver Award from Central Florida Council, Scouting America
At Biltmore Estate
Wood Badge Course Director, Central Florida Council
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