Janet's Planet

Janet is committed to sharing the joy of exploration and discovery with children around the globe. Janet grew up in Covington, TN, a little town 45 minutes north of Memphis, TN, birthplace of Isaac Hayes and the Charms Blow Pop. She played astronaut on the playground, watched Star Trek and loved going to her friend Carol's house because she had wal... kie-talkies that made playing astronaut and Star Trek even more fun. Janet credits her fifth grade teacher, Ms. Ernestine Yarborough for inspiring her love of the solar system. Ms. Yarborough hosted a star party in the fall of 1977 where Janet had the chance to look through a telescope for the first time. Witnessing a strong and beautiful female role model know so much about stars and planets and began a life long love affair with the cosmos. Part artist, part scientist Janet believes that ART and SCIENCE deserve to be taught side by side in concert with one another. Janet earned her Bachelor's in Music and Theatre and is a Master's Candidate in STEAM education at University of San Diego. On November 5th 2016, Janet was awarded the Inaugural " Permission to Dream " Award from Rick Tumlinson's New World's Institute for her commitment to STEAM education and global space and science outreach. In 2015 was elected to the Board of Governors of the National Space Society and named the spokesperson for Enterprise in Space. Janet believes in the mission of educating young people about the solar system, planetary science and GIRLS, telling them "that SMART is the most beautiful thing you can be." In early 2015, Janet's Planet was asked by Chief Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the NASA's New Horizons Mission to do educational outreach for the endeavor. Janet's Planet created the #DearPluto project and garnered international attention and amazing letters from around the world.Read More