WELCOME TO by Matt Ferrari
Have you ever looked up into the night sky and wondered what’s out there? Gazed in awesome wonder at the Northern Lights or maybe followed a shooting star as it fades back into the blackness? If so, and you are searching for answers, this just might be what you’re looking for. Traveling at the speed of thought, Janet’s Planet will take you to the outermost reaches of our universe, and beyond, explaining things along the way! Airing on over 140 public television stations nationwide, Janet’s Planet television series is an educational, short form, video presentation that explores a multitude of topics, one topic at a time. The wide variety of topics include everything from the (former) planet Pluto to the important history of a heroic member of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War Two, often referred to as the WAFs, which later in the war expanded and evolved into the Women Airforce Service Pilots better known as the WASPs, to one of my personal favorites – the banana hammer! I also recommend watching Janet’s video on Micro Gravity where she flies in a modified Boeing 727 airliner and experiences zero ‘G’ flight. The video series can be found on the internet at YouTube, YouTube Kids, BatteryPop, Club Jelly Telly, and HighBrow. In addition to the television shows, Janet’s Planet Live is a traveling stage production consisting of “A Tour of the Solar System”, and coming soon, “The Great Solar System Scavenger
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Janet’s
Hunt!” and “Unsung Genius, Heroines of Science.” Janet’s Planet Live will enlighten, inspire and motivate students to explore deeper into some interesting, exciting and really important topics. Janet Ivey Duensing is the creator and force behind “Janet’s Planet”, and recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with her. She has a magnetic personality and speaking with her is an exercise in excitement! Janet is very personable, easy to talk to and after only a couple of minutes into our conversation it felt as if I was chatting with an old friend, someone I’ve known all my life. And after just a few words, it became very apparent that this is a woman who lives her life at full throttle! Janet’s Planet focusses on the “STEAM” education initiative which is an approach to learning that emphasizes Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics. Using the metaphor of outer space, Janet’s Planet quite intuitively and very effectively presents examples of each of the STEAM areas highlighting the interrelationships between them and showing how they correlate. Guiding the students through dialog, Janet inspires critical thinking and problem solving by presenting scenario-based issues that require collaboration and creativity to solve. Searching the internet, I found a video of Janet’s “Tour of the Solar System” live stage presentation. Watching her, I noticed that there was something special in the way she interacts with her audience. She has a great stage presence and is an excellent communicator, keeping her audience totally engaged, all the time. The video lasted just about an hour and on the wide-angle shots where I could see the audience, not once did I notice a student, or an adult for that matter, whose attention was anywhere else other than on Janet and her crew. It seems that there is a mutual sense of discovery, ongoing throughout the show, where she is as excited as her students with their new revelations! A gift Janet shares with the world is that she educates, motivates and inspires, all at the same time. As she interacts with her audience, Janet praises the students’ participation by offering accolades and positive reinforcement, never shaming anyone if the answer wasn’t correct. Watching how she reacted to an incorrect answer, she actually made the student feel good about having the courage to try! That got me thinking about a quote accredited to one of the best ice hockey players of all time. Known as “The Great One”, hockey hall of famer Wayne Gretzky, while responding to a frustrated interviewer’s question about
