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Doug Peltz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doug Peltz
Born
United States
Alma materUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Known forMystery Science
SpouseCarrie 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

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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

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  1. ^ "Brumback - Peltz". Herald-Whig. 15 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science". Discovery Education. 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Red Bug Makes First American Appearance in O.C." Orange County Register. 2009.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Cost vs Quality in Edtech – Keith Schacht, Avichal Garg, and Geoff Ralston". 6 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Keith Schacht and Doug Peltz on What Traction Feels Like – at YC Edtech Night". 27 November 2017.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Molly Sequin (3 August 2017). "Google and Mystery Science teamed up to give schools free eclipse glasses". Mashable.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Ellen Gamerman (2020). "What to Let the Kids Watch When You're All Stuck at Home". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ Tony Wan (3 November 2020). "Discovery Education Acquires Mystery Science in $140 Million Deal". EdSurge.
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