Dr. Amy Lilienfeld, a geographer who taught at the college-level for over 25 years, created the company Circle of Illumination Science Education in 2019. What inspired her were her unique experiences substitute teaching in the Twin Cities between 2016 and 2018.

During this time she implemented many of the techniques she had used in her own classrooms, relying heavily on a variety of web-based resources as well as film, while adhering to the grade-specific standards. (Writing she will be doing about this, entitled “Stories from Subbing”, will be previewed on this site in sometime in the spring of 2025).

Particularly inspiring was a week she spent with a third grade class at Loring Elementary School in North Minneapolis where the class got to see a number of clips from the film “The Endurance” about William Ernest Shackleton’s journey to get to the South Pole. Of particular note to the students was one element of the ad Shackleton purportedly ran to recruit crew. The students wondered how could there be months of darkness? Fortunately subsequent work we did in the classroom creating diagrams of the Earth during the two solstices helped demonstrate how such conditions could exist for part of the year.

“Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success”

——-Ernest Shackleton

Since its inception Dr. Lilienfeld has been very active in the K-12 Science Education community. She has presented annually at conferences of state science teachers’ associations in both Minnesota and Michigan and has had articles published in LINKS, the e-newsletter of the Michigan Science Teachers’ Association. See more detailed information below.