Team Member / Andre Campbell

Andre’s 17 years of experience creating innovative lessons and teaching K - 5 science curricula, including ten years in the classroom and seven years in science museums and a wide variety of other settings, has made him one of the most recognized and revered science educators in the Southern California area - with his popularity now beginning to skyrocket.

Andre co-founded Creative Science Education (CSE), a traveling science education company serving elementary school (K – 5) STEM needs for public and private schools and school districts throughout Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California. CSE programming includes: teaching hands-on lessons for students during school hours, leading afterschool professional development for teachers and hosting science nights for students, parents and the whole family to enjoy.

Prior to the introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards, CSE had a long track record of success helping 5^th grade students, including English language learners, improve their test scores on the California State Test in Science by an average of 16.4% in the areas of Advanced and Proficient (taken from a sample of 22 schools), catching the attention of administrators and teachers alike.

Andre has worked as a science educator at several major scientific institutions in the Los Angeles area.  He was the lead educator at Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena developing their original programming and curriculum, working with home schools, the outreach program and students with disabilities.  He’s also held educator positions at The California Science Center, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

Andre also worked for Dinosaurs Rock doing school assemblies, camps, library programs, corporate events and was the “go-to guy” for A-list Hollywood celebrity birthday parties.

Andre is an annual judge at the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair.

Andre’s background in science covers a wide range of fields, including astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, geology, oceanography, paleontology, and zoology.

Andre’s intense passion for studying science was inspired growing up in Pomona, CA.  His mother purchased a telescope for Andre and his brother Rodney to observe the night sky, and took them to see the awe-inspiring total solar eclipse in Mexico in 1991.  His junior high school science teacher also played a major role in challenging his science class to think outside of the box and create rockets from scratch.  SCiENCE ALL STARS now serves the elementary schools of Pomona, CA.

Influences:
Bill Nye “the Science guy”, comedian Sinbad, illusionist David Blaine.

Fun Facts:
Andre, or “Dre” as the team calls him, was a camp counselor at Camp Towanda in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania for several summers. He has a background in comedy and magic and if he hadn’t gone into science professionally, he would have become a comedian or magician.  He lived in Mexico City shortly after graduating from college, and is proficient in Spanish which helps him when teaching science to English language learners.  He is also an accomplished Latin Dance instructor (Salsa, Cha cha and Merengue).