Behind the Science: an Interview With Our Senior Web Developer

Q: What do you do at The Lawrence?

A: I make websites. 

Q: What is your favorite exhibit at The Lawrence and why?

A: I have a personal bias for Science on a Sphere because I helped make the Kiosk interface for it. However, my current favorite is the gut health activity in Future of Food. My 3 year old son laughs like a maniac at the sound it makes when you feed it “healthy” food.  NumNUMnum!

Q: Describe your path to science/education

A: 11-year-old Zach would be very pleased to know that it’s my job to make websites about dinosaurs, space, and robots.  

Q: What is something new (science-related) you’ve learned at The Lawrence?

A: In the Animal Discovery Zone, I learned that Axolotls are like a salamander Peter Pan that doesn’t ever grow up, maintaining its juvenile features into adulthood. 

Q: What was your first aha moment at The Lawrence?

A: My first aha moment is when I realized the big industrial metal thing that is next to the Plaza is the 65-ton electromagnet that powered an early Ernest O. Lawrence cyclotron. I thought it was an air conditioning unit or something! 

Q: Who is your favorite fictional character, and why?

A: Kilgore Trout, who appears in several Kurt Vonnegut novels. I’d love to have a career of describing absurd science fiction novel plots without ever actually writing the book. 

Q: If you could be any animal, real or imaginary, which would you be and why?

A: I would be Sally the tortoise in our Animal Discovery Zone. She’s always eating the most colorful, delightful-looking salads.

Q: Do you have an unrealized project you want to talk about?

A: I’d like to launch a campaign to get bike racks installed at The Lawrence! I bike to work most days, and I’d love for our visitors to have that option as well.

Q: If you could amplify one thing at The Lawrence, what would it be?

A: I want everyone to know what a special place The Lawrence is, full of brilliant, caring people doing important stuff.