KnoxTNToday is excited to introduce an incoming contributor to our readers: Kris Light.
If you are a nature, science, photography or travel enthusiast or just curious about those that are, you will be fascinated by what Kris will bring to us.
I have brought you her stories of photographing snowflakes and Knox the Fox recently shared her family’s trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica Part 1 Costa Rica Part 2
Kris grew up near Nashville where she loved climbing trees and playing in the small woods in her neighborhood. She also loved reading and sometimes would climb a tree to read books from the elementary school library.
That early love of nature and learning set the stage for her later years of being a Girl Scout leader and science outreach educator.
(I have given research on how nature and creativity impact literacy. Kris is an example.)
Nature photography led Kris to the teaching position she has held since 1988. She photographed plants and put together a slide show called Plant Adaptations.
She says, “Like a dog that chased a car, caught it, and then didn’t know what to do with it, I had to find a venue where it could be put to use.” A new program had been developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for teaching environmental education in an outdoor setting and her plant slide show fit the bill for the program.
Soon, she was taking more photos and writing other classes. Fast forward 36 years, the program was transferred to the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in 1995 and has grown to more than 20 different classes through the Outreach Education program. The classes are available for public, private and homeschool groups through the AMSE.
She says, “I love making learning science fun for children!” I know that is true as I watched kids unimpressed with science become mesmerized and engaged when she brought group science classes to my schools.
Kris and her husband, Kenny, love to travel having been to 30 states in the US, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Germany, Norway, Mexico, Costa Rica and Australia. They live in Oak Ridge, close to great hiking trails in our state parks, the Smokies and trails in the Oak Ridge greenways.
Kris always has her camera so she can photograph wildflowers, any animals they come across along the trails and anything of interest. She has a website for many of her best photos: Many of the photos are used in her website : click Search All Galleries to see photos.
Kris Light’s features will vary in topic from obscure or unknown local hiking trails, nature phenomenon, science myths we might believe debunked, and more from her love of science and nature.
