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Pluto to Reno

By Mara Nutt


In the summer of 2015 I was sitting on my couch, scrolling through Facebook on my laptop, when I saw NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft’s photo of Pluto from half a million miles away. You know the one, with the heart shape that made people even more convinced that Pluto should still be a planet? Ya. That one. That summer I was preparing to head off to college, and was still unsure on what I wanted to study. At that moment I decided I would for sure be a space rock research geologist (hint: I changed my mind. Many times). What made me so sure? That picture. The stories I made up in my head about what could have made Pluto’s surface so beautiful. Was it frozen gasses moved by the wind? Was it some sort of volcanic activity at the edge of explored space? Was it just a coincidence that the surface had a cartoon heart shape on it? Not only that, but when I talked to my community about how I was going to study space rocks, they were all so excited for me. That and the excitement that it sparked within the scientific community, I was hooked.


As I went through undergrad, I was torn between how wonderful and full of potential astrogeology (the fancy word for space rock geology) was, and the reality of staring at nonsensical data day in and day out. I realized that most researchers didn’t really want to make the cool images that got the public excited, that was for PR people to do, or for special circumstance presentations. But MY favorite moments in undergrad were teaching my fellow students about geology and environmental science with silly stories and pictures to make the information stick (hmmmm I wonder if this will be relevant to my career choices? Surely not…).When I graduated undergrad I was loosely going into geomorphology (how land is shaped and why it looks the way it does) and geochemistry, with the goal of teaching at the college level. The stories that the land tells with its hills, valleys, rivers, and beaches is captivating to me to this day. That picture of Pluto was still influencing me, I had just been brought down to Earth by the reality of studying things you can’t walk to.


So there I was, a UNR PhD student studying how geochemistry and geomorphology interact to shape landscapes and the climate. The story was fascinating, the work was cool, the field area was awesome, and my advisor was, and is, awesome. The issue I kept running into was that I am a ‘jack of all trades’, and when you do a PhD it is very specialized and you have to get into that mindset to get through. It wasn’t until I was a year and a half into a 5 year program that it clicked. At a workshop for diversity, equity, and inclusion in environmental science, I realized I wanted to be the funny person that sparked people's interest in science through a funny story, act, or experiment. The person who could make people excited to learn about dirt. And that I wanted to do that for more people than college students, I wanted to do it for the entire community.


Now here I am, with a Master’s of Science, not a Doctorate, working for the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation as an education coordinator. And honestly? It’s been a relief to be so happy here. I flipped my entire career trajectory upside down when I decided to master out and go into outreach and education. My strong ‘hard science’ background means that I have the presentation, writing, and communication skills as well as the scientific knowledge to make my

teaching as strong as possible. My Master’s degree was two fold, with an education portion as well as a science part (did I mention my advisor is awesome?). I modified and taught a two lesson module on rock weathering and climate for middle schoolers. Then I wrote up the lesson plan formally and it has been accepted for the magazine Science Scope with the National Science Teachers Association, which is a place teachers can go to for lesson plans and ideas.That experience was so incredible and has helped me dive into STEM outreach at TMPF with experience and tools in my pocket.


Something that I’ve learned about myself while working at TMPF is that I’m good at working on my feet with completely new subjects. For example, during my first week I got to go into the classroom and helped teach kids about arthropods (that’s bugs if you didn’t know, I sure didn’t!). Even though I don’t have any background in entomology, my team helped me get to the point where I was comfortable working with kids in the classroom as well as anyone coming into the nature center, and being able to teach them about bugs. Do I touch the Madagascar hissing cockroaches we have? No. I have my limits, I studied rocks for a reason (hint: they are not squishy and do not hiss at me (usually)). While teaching our soils module at an elementary school, I was able to get the kids excited about guessing at what the soil in their park was going to be like and why. The day this blog comes out I’ll be teaching the public about the soils at Rosewood by painting with soil! At TMPF I get to make silly faces, tell stories, and yes, even get people excited about dirt.


I still think about that photo of Pluto on a weekly basis, even 10 years later (YIKES I just did that math and boy do I feel old now). It’s that art, that simple collection of pixels put together into an image, with which we build a story in our minds, that keeps me excited about science and sharing how cool it is. What is your favorite photo, painting, art piece, story, or inspiration? I hope you can bring that to mind today and find joy in it, and bring that joy to someone else in your life.

 

About the Author

Mara Nutt (they/them)

Rosewood Education Coordinator

Mara graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with their Masters degree in Hydrology in late 2023. Although they are formally trained primarily in environmental/climate science and geology, they’ve always had a passion for STEAM outreach and education. They are excited to put this into practice as an Education Coordinator at the Rosewood Nature Study Area by using outdoor classroom spaces and interactive lessons that utilize the amazing restored wetlands at Rosewood. Their life goal is to learn something new everyday, and the best way they’ve found to do that is by working interactively with the community. In their free time they love walking in the local parks, biking, and spending time with their partner and cat. 

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Guest
Feb 06

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Jan 29
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Jan 23
Rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Mara, your passion for science is inspiring. Great blog!

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