Forsyth Tech’s March SciTech Lecture Features SciWorks Executive Director

Paul Kortenaar, Executive Director, SciWorks

Paul Kortenaar to Discuss Preparing Students and
Teachers to Work in World of Technology

"Paul Kortenaar, PhD, executive director of SciWorks, will be the guest speaker at Forsyth Tech’s March SciTech lecture. Kortenaar will address “Education for Innovation: Preparing Students and Their Teachers to Work in a World of Technology Change.” Biotech: Risk and Reward” on Thursday, March 20 from 4 - 5 pm.

The lecture will held in the Oak Grove Auditorium on Forsyth Tech’s Main Campus, 2100 Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. (See directions below.)

The lecture is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested by calling 336.734.7205.

Before coming to Winston-Salem as Executive Director of SciWorks, Kortenaar was the Director of Education and Weston Family Chair of Innovative Education at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Canada. He worked in science museums previously in Canada and the United States, and taught in Faculties of Education in Canada and Tanzania.

While at the Ontario Science Centre, Kortenaar also acted as the principal of the Ontario Science Centre Science School, a formal public school within the walls of an informal science center. 

As the Executive Director of SciWorks, Kortenaar’s primary goals are to increase the community engagement and excitement at the museum with new programs and exhibits. He believes that the role of SciWorks is to help the local community understand and interpret the role that science and scientific research play in their lives by acting as the connector between the scientific community and the wider public. 

“I read recently that ‘creativity, collaboration, risk-taking and perseverance are all important skills children must practice to become the innovative individuals of the future,’” Kortenaar says. “I agree and given that Winston-Salem is the City of Arts and Innovation, SciWorks is the place where innovation begins.”

Kortenaar received an undergraduate degree in genetics from McGill University in Montreal, and masters and doctoral degrees in education from York University in Toronto. His dissertation research revolved around the intersection of formal and informal learning that occurs when schools come for field trips to science centers and museums. 


Oak Grove Center Directions/Parking: 
Paul Kortenaar’s lecture will be held in the Oak Grove Center Auditorium, 3rd floor, Room #3340 at 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 20.  Parking information can be found on the map of Forsyth Tech's Main Campus & Oak Grove Center.  (Note: The visitor parking lot is in the front of Oak Grove Center, listed as "Lot 01" on the map.  The other two parking lots listed are for overflow parking.)

About SciWorks
SciWorks is a science museum in Winston-Salem with more than 25,000 square feet of interior exhibit space, a 119-seat Planetarium, and a 17-acre outdoor Environmental and Science Park that includes nature walks and winding trails. For more information, visit sciworks.org.

About Forsyth Tech
Forsyth Technical Community College offers associate degrees, diplomas and certificates in more than 200 programs of study. Forsyth Tech’s Economic & Workforce Development programs promote personal and professional development with non-credit courses and seminars and provide customized training for business and industry. Forsyth Tech serves more than 35,000 students with approximately 1,500 full and part-time faculty. For more information, visit forsythtech.edu."
Submitted Release 


No comments: