I love watching children engaged in science every day! It is an honor to win this award for doing something that only seems natural. Instilling a love of science and outdoor education at the earliest grades is supremely important. Science is about carefully conducted inquiry to learn about the world and showing children that everyone can do science. This is an opportunity to shout out to the world that thinking like a scientist empowers one to become an inquisitive, collaborative problem-solver.  

Kimberly Humphrey Kearney, NE | K-6, Science, 2012

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Kim Humphrey has been an educator for 31 years, the last 18 years at Meadowlark Elementary School. Previously, she taught at Kenwood Elementary School and in the District Chapter Mathematics program. Kim’s passion for teaching and love of science led her to develop daily Science Stations and Scientist’s Chair for assessing learning. She helped adopt a practice with co-teachers called Tuesday Science, and she supports instruction with third grade Science Buddies. As Project Coordinator, she inaugurated the Dryland River Walk Outdoor Classroom. She created Battle of the Crushed Can, an arboretum, a meadow, an amphitheater, a gazebo, a tree house, a low-lying bridge, and an archaeology/paleontology dig site. After school, Kim guides a student board of 35 environmentalists in first through fifth grade. In collaboration with a university science methods class, Kim facilitates Science Days and advocates for the preparation of future teachers in inquiry-based science teaching. Kim serves as the District Arboretum Chair, organizes Arbor Day events, and tutors mathematics students. She has received the Peter Kiewit Foundation’s Nebraska Teacher award and Nebraska Arboretum’s Outstanding Teacher award. Kim has a B.A. in elementary education and an M.Ed. in early childhood education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Know a great teacher like Kimberly Humphrey? Nominate them for PAEMST!