Marta Biarnes is the Founder and CEO of STEMSpark. For nearly 20 years, Marta has been at the forefront of the intersection of STEM, child development, and inquiry-based learning practices used in museum education, and best practices in early childhood education. Marta’s passion and unique research, experience, and expertise led to the creation of STEMSpark, a dynamic company that directly meets the needs of children, caregivers, and community organizations such as museums, libraries, schools, and universities. Marta is a chemist by training and spent time conducting research on the bench in academia, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. She has extensive experience at the Museum of Science in Boston where she led community outreach efforts for Greater Boston families, developed engaging early childhood exhibits and programming, and created quality professional development experiences for informal science educators and university researchers. Marta co-founded Living Laboratory — a framework for museum-university collaborations that aims to communicate on-going research to the public through fun, hands-on research experiences — and served as PI and co-PI of various National Science Foundation grants, including the broadly implemented National Living Laboratory initiative.  She has earned various honors, has a number of scientific publications, and can be found on the lecture and conference circuit delivering key notes and running workshops to the education and scientific community.

Marta received her Ed. M. in Human Development and Psychology at Harvard University and holds degrees in Chemistry and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University.

Natasha Chlebuch is a developmental scientist at Villanova University. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a published author in adolescent and theory of mind development. In addition to her work at STEMSpark, she is the coordinator of the Scientific Thinking and Representation Lab, which specializes in understanding the mechanisms of scientific cognition in young children.

Miriam Krause has spent over fifteen years helping children, parents, and teachers find joy in the science that surrounds us. She delights in helping children and adults ask and answer their own questions. She is currently the Early Childhood STEM Manager at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she is responsible for both in-museum and outreach programs for preschool and early elementary audiences. Miriam has extensive experience at Maryland Science Center in Baltimore where she created professional development for preschool teachers and developed engaging, hands-on early childhood exhibit spaces. When Miriam is not doing science she can be found gardening, making jam, and playing board games. Miriam holds both a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Early Childhood Education.

Janna Doherty (she/her) For more than a decade Janna has been designing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) experiences for people of all ages, with a focus on children birth to 8 years and their caregivers. Janna’s background is rooted in informal education techniques such as inquiry-based learning, Visual Thinking Strategies, immersive play, and visual media. She has extensive experience leading early childhood STEM education efforts in museums and is passionate about creating inclusive and accessible experiences. Throughout her work, Janna aims to use research-based practices to create innovative tools for teaching and learning.