Kristen Lear, PhD
Bat Conservationist & Science Communicator
National Geographic Explorer
AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador
© B. Mink-Smart, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2013
Outreach & Mentoring
Sharing my passion for bats through public outreach and mentoring is one of the things I enjoy most. I regularly give bat presentations (in person and virtual), lead bat house building workshops and bat walks, and serve as an advisor for student and community bat projects. Through my outreach and mentoring I aspire to involve members of the public in bat conservation efforts and help inspire the next generation of bat scientists! If you are interested in a bat presentation (including virtual presentations, English and/or Spanish) or talking about wildlife and conservation careers, feel free to contact me! Presentation topics include general bat 101, bat conservation and research, gardening for bats, bat house information, to name a few! I can tailor talks to your group's interests and age. For information about my efforts to support girls and women in STEM, visit my WOMEN IN STEM page. Also check out my MEDIA OUTREACH and PRESS pages.
Bat Project Mentoring
Kindergarten Class Bat House Project Mentor
September 2016 - March 2017
I provided project advice for a kindergarten bat house project in Cincinnati, Ohio. I gave a remote presentation to the class from to teach them about bats and bat houses, and I helped them identify the best locations for installation at their school. They ended up building and installing five houses painted different colors so they could do an experiment to see which color worked best for the bats! Check out this video they made about their project!
The team's bat posters (December 2016)
December 2016
December 2016
The team's bat posters (December 2016)
© A. Eluri, Atlanta, Georgia, 2016
Team Alpha
Helping to save the bats! (December 2016)
The team's Bionic Bat House (December 2016)
Helping to save the bats! (December 2016)
Osborne Middle School Team
© S. Clark, 2016
First Lego League Project Mentor
October 2016 - December 2016, Georgia
I advised two First Lego League teams on their bat projects. This year's theme was "Animal Allies". Teams were required to highlight a wildlife issue and how people can help solve the issue.
Team Alpha, a group of 3rd to 6th graders, chose White Nose Syndrome as their project focus. They created a skit about the disease and created a flier to educate the public about WNS.
The Osborne Middle School Team (Gwinnett County, GA) also focused on helping bats. They created a "Bionic Bat House" that will monitor the bats inside and provide habitat for bats and research data for scientists.
To read more about their projects, see "Mentoring Tomorrow's Bat Champions" on Bat Conservation International's website.
May 2013
May 2013
May 2013
May 2013
Girl Scout Troop 42961 Bronze Award Project Advisor
May 2013, Cincinnati, Ohio
I met with the troop to provide information about bats and how they could help local bats in their area. I assisted with building and installing two bat houses in a local Cincinnati park.
© B. Mink-Smart, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2013
Youth Science Advocacy & Science Literacy
National Geographic Explorer Classroom and Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants
September 2019 - Present
The National Geographic Explorer Classrooms and Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants program bring National Geographic Explorers into classrooms across the world. These sessions allow students to connect directly with Explorers and learn about diverse careers. Check out some of my sessions here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Skype a Scientist
August 2017 - Present
The Skype a Scientist program matches classrooms around the world with real scientists to give students a window into the world of working in science and the many fields that scientists work in. I have presented to students from kindergarten through 5th grade in both English and Spanish, covering numerous science topics such as conservation, adaptation, biomimicry, pollination, and ecosystem services. In all these presentations, I pull from my current and past research and incorporate examples from bat biology. These sessions also provide an opportunity to share my journey as a scientist and to advocate for science careers. Check out one of my presentations here.
Letters to a Pre-Scientist and Picture a Scientist Program
August 2017 - Present
Through this program, I exchanged penpal letters with a middle school student in California interested in science. Through our letters, we talked about what being a scientist is like, what kind of work I do, and how students can get involved in science.
I am also participating in the Picture a Scientist program that highlights real scientists and helps break stereotypes of what a scientist looks like. The letters and photos provided by scientists will engage middle school students as they explore careers and learn about science.
To learn more about these cool programs, check out the Letters to a Pre-Scientist website. Check out my Picture a Scientist here!
Scientific Research and Education Network (SciRen)
January 2018 - Present
This program aims to connect STEM researchers and K-12 teachers to disseminate research and enhance science literacy among students. In 2018 I created a lesson plan for 7th grade classes following the Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science. The lesson plan, "Interactions in the Plant and Animal Kingdom", teaches students about different types of interactions between organisms (mutualisms, predation, and parasitism, as well as pollination and frugivory). It also provided an activity to help students learn about animal adaptations to certain diets. I also got to share the lesson plan at a networking event with local teachers in Athens, Georgia. A PDF of the lesson plan can be found here as well as on my Educational Materials page. To learn more about SciRen, visit https://sciren.org/.
© K. Lear, Athens, Georgia, 2018
Explorer Day 2019
Explorer Day
April 2019
I gave a remote presentation in Spanish to share my experience as a scientist and National Geographic Explorer with 8th grade students (many of whom are first and second generation Mexican-Americans) in this daylong event at South Valley Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The goal of the event, hosted by National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Jennifer Chavez-Miller, was to show middle school students what it means to be an explorer and to inspire students to think like explorers.
Undergraduate Mentoring
During my PhD I have actively engaged in mentoring university students. I provided field work training to eight Mexican undergraduate students (six women), as well as training in data collection and analysis to an additional four Mexican undergraduate students (three women) and six American undergraduate students (five women). In addition, I mentored a Master's student on her project classifying echolocation calls of Leptonycteris nivalis. As a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University, I also served as a mentor for a freshman Honors Tutorial class ("Bacteria, Birds, and Degradation") and assisted students with their class projects.
