Biography

Laura "Juliana" Thomas has been teaching for 34 years. She is currently teaching seventh grade Science and Project at the Duke School in Durham, NC, where she has introduced citizen science projects to her students and has taught Lego Robotics. Juliana also taught for 20 years at The Exploris School in downtown Raleigh, NC, adding science expertise to her team through integrated curriculum and project-based learning expeditions. Starting her teaching career in Colombia, South America, she taught for several years in bilingual schools. Juliana collaborates with her team in designing class projects and her goal is to develop critical thinking skills in her students. She is passionate about using citizen science in the classroom to help students think of themselves as authentic scientists and has been part of the Duke Tip program in Durham working with young scientists. She has collaborated with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and Museum of Natural Sciences, designing citizen science lessons as students track turtles and collect fossil shark teeth data. She has also coached Wake County teachers in leading citizen science afterschool programs. Juliana has been the recipient of many awards with her bridge building club. She received first place in the 2013 International Kids Creating Community Contest for her work with her students and Eastern Box turtles. She has presented her turtle work at several conferences and became a 2014-2015 Kenan Fellow, where she worked with the Students Discover Kenan Fellowship program. Juliana earned a B.S. in biology from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and completed an M.S. in biology at the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia. At North Carolina State University, she obtained her science teaching certification.