Meet Our Staff
Susan Lynn
Executive Director
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
Cornelius the corn snake!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Enchanted Castle" By E. Nesbit
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
I loved playing cards with my grandmother!
Fun Fact:
I still have my childhood love of climbing - rocks, trees, mountains, you name it!
Lin Renner
Operations Manager
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
The Bubbles - as they bring so much joy for kids of all ages!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Misty of Chincoteague" -Novel by Marguerite Henry
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Chutes and Ladders
Fun Fact:
I'm a nerdy birder! I can identify most all birds by sight and sound.
Laura LoTurco-Gorian
Developmental Administrative Assistant
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
The Make & Take are and Fine Art Friday! I love anything that has to do with art!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" -Novel by E. L. Konigsburg
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Catching fireflies!
Fun Fact:
I'm a book hoarder! I enjoy books on art culture, foreign places, and children's books.
Leona Hillary
Educational Programs & Exhibit Manager
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
The garden and our Seeds & Sprouts program because we are able to grow food, eat, play, get dirty, and learn about nature!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Where the Wild Things Are" - by Maurice Sendak
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
I enjoyed playing dress-up in any way! I wore tutus and hats and would put on fashion shows! Playing real estate and climbing on the jungle gym were also my favorite things to do!
Fun Fact:
I am an artist too! I paint, draw and build sculptures from trash. Making things at the Museum is great because it’s always more fun with friends!
Hector Solis
Facilities Manager
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
The pepper and chile beds in the planting area
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
I never read.
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
"Black Ops" on Xbox 360
Fun Fact:
I like to dance cumbia and rancheras!
Asis Gonzalez
Planetarium Coordinator
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
Cornelius and his feedings! Because Cornelius is a fun danger noodle!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Magic School Bus" (Any)
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Hide and Seek
Fran Narain
Administrative Assistant
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
Science Saturday is my favorite because sometimes we make slime and I think that's pretty great.
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
I didn't enjoy reading all that much, but when I did, it was either non-fiction about nature or absolute fiction about unicorns.
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
I really loved playing with marble runs!
Fun Fact:
I used to compete on FIRST Robotics team 2945, which is essentially a less intense version of battle bots!
Howard Theron Hommer
Fun Facilitator/Planetarium Assistant/Manager on Duty
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
"People on the Go" (because it encourages the imagination of travel)
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Where the Sidewalk Ends" - A 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Kick the Can
Fun Fact:
I have travelled the United States alone for two years visiting 44 states.
Lorena Lopez-Vargas
Fun Facilitator
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
I like the Bubble Table because of all the fun tricks you can make happen!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"Ferdinand the Bull" by Munro Leaf
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Candy Land
Fun Fact:
I'm bilingual and I can do a cartwheel!
Norma Flores
Fun Facilitator
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
I love our earthworks, there is a lot to play with.There’s a music plaza, an adobe playhouse, a sand pit, and the horno where sometimes we cook veggies from our garden. You can also see lizards,butterflies, birds, and the beautiful flowers.
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"The Five Chinese Brothers" by Claire Huchet Bishop
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Mancala
Fun Fact:
I like to watch and draw anime, one of my favorite shows is Avatar the last air bender!
Cody Stelzer
Science Educator & Museum Engineer
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
The Magnet Ball Wall
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
"The Way Things Work" -Book by David Macaulay and Neil Ardley
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
Any PC game I could convince my parents to let me buy (but MechWarrior 2 was was my obsession) , track and field, basketball, using magnifying glasses to start fires, soccer, catching bees, running away from angry bees.
Fun Fact:
I can make a dolphin call with my mouth and farting noises with my neck and supraclavicular fossa (indentation above collarbone).
Aubs Staats
Exhibit Painter
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
I love the daily animal talks I get to do with kids. Interacting with Cornelius the Snake and Bisquick the Pancake Tortoise inspires conversations about empathy and cultivates an early interest in basic biology.
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
“The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! By A. Wolf”- as told to Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
I enjoyed dressing up in sparkly puffy pants and pretending to be a genie. I always gave 3 wishes followed by the instruction to have patience because the wishes would be granted “in time.”
Fun Fact:
I illustrated a collection of African folk tales for a Brazilian children’s book called, “Contos de Bichos da Africa” by Celina Bodenmuller and Fabiana Prando.
KT Lopez
Program Assistant
Favorite Exhibit/Program:
Seeing the toddlers fill the museum for our "Wee Wednesday" mornings is magical! I also enjoy getting to interact with the children as they explore the worm bin!
Childhood Book I Enjoyed:
I liked books that were interactive such as "Magic Eye," "Where's Waldo" or "Search & Find" activity books.
Game(s) I Liked To Play:
I would play anything from kickball, to "colored eggs," or even pretended to be a chef in a fake restaurant. I especially enjoyed playing catch, basketball, and chess with my dad.
Fun Fact:
I have been skydiving over the Rocky Mountains and was featured in the Wall Street Journal for having an outdated flip phone (that I still have & use)!
Meredith Brown
Finance Director
