Tara Oakes Email & Phone Number

Houston, Texas Area

I am in an interesting role at HMNS- basically, I do whatever they want me to!On any given day I can be found in the planetarium making the universe work, taking the portable dome to schools for outreach programming, or teaching any topic in the Youth Education Department.

Phoenix, Arizona Area

I recently resigned as the Programs Coordinator in the Programs Department at the Phoenix Zoo. I coordinated the Wild Science Academy classes are geared towards home school students to give them an educational experience utilizing our collections and expertise tied to special tours or lectures within the Zoo. The WSA was incredibly successful for me as a curriculum developer and facilitator- I hope the student Scientists learned as much from me as I did from them!I was incredibly happy to be involved with an institution like the Phoenix Zoo to continue to educate teachers and students about the world around them to create better stewards for the future!

University Of Arizona Maricopa County Cooperative Extension

With the Water Investigations Program, I did the following:Work directly with teachers and their students throughout the school year, providing hands-on activities to supplement their curriculumMaintained schedules and logistics for all WIP programmingtrained volunteersorganized day of event programming, group schedules, volunteer & staff assignments, etc...create new content- motion camera activities, engineering & design activities, Career Science videoslearning GIS to create new content options for programmingFor the Arizona Water Festival Program:Establish relationships with the local contacts for each eventProvide teacher professional development and train volunteersEvent logistics- contact with locations, insurance paperwork, etc...Event planning- assigning classes, staff and volunteers to their locations and assignments

Phoenix, Arizona Area

As a Garden Educator, I conducted tours of the Desert Botanical Gardens for schoolchildren (grades K-4th) that focus on the Arizona State Standards. In this role it was my pleasure to introduce students to areas of science- and their environment. These moments can inspire a child to take a greater interest in science or even send them down a path towards a future career.

My responsibilities included developing curriculum for three different camps and managing multiple overnight programs at ASC. I also created a teacher workshop on Rube Goldberg Machines on inquiry based design and engineering. I established the foundations for the new Boy Scout program including an overnight to launch the program that was attended by 195 guests and generated over $6500 in extra revenue.

Following graduation, I knew I was going to relocate, so I focused on doing small contract jobs. Operating as Terra Tara Designs, I created drawings for a residential contractor for multiple construction projects- including fully dimensioning an entire country estate/horse ranch. I also created the plans for the City of Houston for Melange Creperie- a mobile food cart- that has become incredibly successful. The largest project I completed was the design and opening of a hair salon over a period of 8 months.

I worked as the assistant to the owner of Savannah House in residential projects and with the material selections for the new Cafe Adobe in Clear Lake near Bay Brook Mall. I coordinated with clients, picked up and ordered materials, processed work orders, and assisted the owner in whatever fashion needed.

I created presentation graphics for clients and CAD drawings for various high-end residential projects in the Houston area.

Assisted the exhibits staff with the installation of the Diamonds and Terra Cotta Warriors exhibitions.

In Youth Ed you had to be a Jack of All trades.