Doug Peltz
Doug Peltz | |
---|---|
Born | United States |
Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
Known for | Mystery Science |
Spouse | Carrie Peltz[1] |
Doug Peltz, popularly known as Mystery Doug, is an American science communicator and entrepreneur based in San Francisco. He is best known as the co-founder of the popular science curriculum Mystery Science, a science program used in 50% of U.S. elementary schools and recently acquired by Discovery Education.[2] Mystery Science answers questions that viewers ask through activities and experiments.
Career
[edit]One of the first sightings of the Mediterranean red bug in North America was recorded by Peltz, who was then working as a middle school science teacher.[3][4]
In 2013, he co-founded the Mystery Science curriculum program with Keith Schacht. Interviews with Y Combinator, one their investors, detailed an unconventional business model in which the company sold to schools and districts across the United States without a sales team.[5][6]
In October 2017, he launched an initiative titled Eclipse America in which Mystery Science partnered with Google to provide free eclipse glasses and lessons to teachers in classrooms.[7][8][9] Peltz's business endeavors have been featured by the Wall Street Journal.[10]
In October 2020, Peltz joined Discovery Education as Mystery Science became a wholly owned subsidiary; Mystery Science was acquired for $140 million.[11] The science program is now used in more than 50% of elementary schools.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Brumback - Peltz". Herald-Whig. 15 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science". Discovery Education. 30 October 2020.
- ^ "Red Bug Makes First American Appearance in O.C." Orange County Register. 2009.
- ^ Bryant, Peter J (October 2009). "Invasion of Southern California by the Palearctic pyrrhocorid Scantius aegyptius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)". The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 85 (4): 190–193. doi:10.3956/2009-27.1. S2CID 86667893.
- ^ "Cost vs Quality in Edtech – Keith Schacht, Avichal Garg, and Geoff Ralston". 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Keith Schacht and Doug Peltz on What Traction Feels Like – at YC Edtech Night". 27 November 2017.
- ^ Frederic Lardinois (3 August 2017). "Mystery Science Partners with Google to Bring Eclipse Glasses to Elementary School Students". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020.
- ^ Molly Sequin (3 August 2017). "Google and Mystery Science teamed up to give schools free eclipse glasses". Mashable.
- ^ Chris Weller (3 August 2017). "Google is giving away 15,000 pairs of solar eclipse glasses to schools across the US". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020.
- ^ Ellen Gamerman (2020). "What to Let the Kids Watch When You're All Stuck at Home". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Tony Wan (3 November 2020). "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science in $140 Million Deal". EdSurge.