“Before Teachers in Space, space exploration was something I loved teaching. After Teachers in Space, it became something I had experienced.
That experience changed me, not just as a teacher, but as a person. It gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I never thought possible, collaborate with scientists and engineers, and give my students experiences that I could only have dreamed about when I was their age.
Space education is about much more than rockets and astronauts. It teaches resilience, teamwork, innovation, creativity, and perseverance. It reminds students that some of the biggest challenges facing humanity will be solved by people who are sitting in today’s classrooms.
I believe every student deserves the opportunity to be inspired by space, and every teacher deserves the opportunity to experience the excitement of discovery. Teachers in Space makes that possible, and I would be honored to continue serving as an ambassador for its mission.”
Hi, I’m Karin Paquin
My Teaching Experience
I am entering my 13th year as an educator and currently serve as the Dean of Faculty and Middle School Science Teacher at St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick, Maine. My passion is creating hands-on, inquiry-based STEM experiences where students don’t just learn science, they become scientists and engineers. I have built a curriculum that integrates engineering design, space science, biology, physics, and Earth science through authentic research and real-world problem solving.
Before becoming a classroom teacher, I spent six years as a marine biologist conducting research at sea and serving as an informal science educator. Those experiences taught me the value of authentic scientific discovery and the importance of bringing real-world science back to students. That philosophy continues to guide my teaching today, as I strive to create meaningful learning experiences that inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love of exploration.
Beyond my classroom, I have the privilege of working with educators across Maine through the Maine Space Grant Consortium and the Collaborative Outreach for Maine Educators in Technology and Space (COMETS), an organization I co-founded. Together, we provide professional development, classroom resources, and hands-on STEM experiences that help bring authentic space education to teachers and students across the state. One of the most rewarding parts of my career is empowering fellow educators with the confidence and tools to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.
Flight Experience
I have flown aboard two parabolic microgravity flights. My first flight was with Teachers in Space in the fall of 2022. That experience completely changed how I viewed teaching space science because I wasn’t just talking about microgravity anymore, I was living it.
My second flight was through the Space for Teachers Embedded Teacher Program in partnership with the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium and the ISS National Laboratory. During that flight, I had the privilege of flying a student-designed experiment in microgravity. Both experiences have strengthened my confidence as an educator and reinforced my belief that authentic experiences are the best way to inspire students.
Flight Experiment Experience
My experience with Teachers in Space began with my first parabolic flight in the fall of 2022. Through Teachers in Space, my students have had incredible opportunities to design and build CubeSat experiments that have flown on a high-altitude balloon (HAB), a microgravity flight, the Perlan glider in Argentina, and two Blue Origin suborbital rocket launches. These experiences allowed students to develop their own research questions, design experiments around their hypotheses, collect and analyze flight data, and draw evidence-based conclusions. They weren’t simply learning about the scientific method, they were living it.