Marketing director joins Explorit staff

Explorit Science Center has hired Peter Willson as marketing director, a newly created position.

“In this economy, robust marketing is more important than ever,” said Lou Ziskind, executive director. “Peter brings solid skills to the table, and his background in education lends itself well to our needs.”

Since 2006, Willson has been assistant principal at a Merryhill school in Sacramento. He oversaw marketing efforts there, targeting his efforts to families of children in kindergarten through 6th grade.

Previously, he was executive director of Huntington Learning Center in Roseville. He built the tutoring center from the ground up, ultimately serving 500 students. In just over three years, he generated $2.2 million in revenue and was recognized with several top awards from the nationwide organization.

His background also includes athletic success: He played professional football in the late 1990s, spending most of his time with NFL Europe. In 1997, he was named Student Athlete of the Year at Sacramento State and Scholar Athlete of the Year in the Big Sky Conference.

“I am excited to join the Explorit family,” Willson said. “In this new role I will have the opportunity to bring Explorit’s hands-on approach to science not only to families in Davis but to all our surrounding communities.

“Being the father of two little ones, I know how amazing it is to see their eyes light up when they get to experience science first-hand,” he continued. “By joining Explorit I can help bring that feeling to students everywhere.”

At the center, Willson will implement new efforts to attract museum visitors from throughout the Sacramento region. He’ll also work to boost bookings of field trips and traveling education programs, and market Explorit’s annual fund-raiser, the Corporate Science Challenge.

Additionally, he’ll work with Explorit’s new development director, Kimberly Cox, to develop community relationships and reach out to new donors. Explorit depends on charitable donations to maintain its array of science education programs; fees alone do not sustain them.

The center fills a vital regional role in bolstering science education for schoolchildren. Explorit educators present hands-on programs to elementary schools in 18 Northern California counties and host thousands of children on field trips. Last year, about 65,000 children and adults experienced Exploit’s programs and exhibitions.

Willson can be reached at (530) 756-0191 or pwillson@explorit.org.
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Have you ever seen a tornado machine? How about a cloud in a soda bottle? You can see both when Dr. Storm, aka UC Davis Professor Richard Grotjahn, comes to Explorit.

He’ll lead several shows between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday at Explorit’s museum site, 2801 Second St. Part of our “Family Exploration” series, “Dr. Storm Presents Weather” will be free after paid admission to the museum.

Grotjahn will use a dozen demonstrations to explain different aspects of the weather. Topics include air pressure, how clouds and rain form, angular momentum, and what causes lightning and tornadoes.

Demonstrations include the cloud in a soda bottle, the tornado machine, static electricity, a hot air balloon, and others as time permits.

Grotjahn’s academic areas of focus have included frontal cyclones, subtropical highs, the atmosphere’s global scale circulations, climate change and weather prediction. During his 27 years at UC Davis, his research has combined theoretical dynamics with observations, using each to illuminate the other. He is the author of “Global Atmospheric Circulations: Observations and Theories” as well as 50 journal articles.

Also, he has taught more than a dozen different courses including numerical modeling, general circulation of the atmosphere, synoptic meteorology and advanced dynamics. For the past five years he has taught a popular course entitled Severe and Unusual Weather.

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Explorit Science Center is at 2801 Second St., Davis. Public hours: 2-4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission is $4 general, free for ages 3 and under. It’s free for everyone on the fourth Friday of each month. For more information: (530) 756-0191 or www.explorit.org.