Super Scientists and Amazing Artists
Cathy Seachrist
Ashley Schmidt
Glen Beitmen
Ed Gifford

Information on our pre-school classes will be posted shortly.
Email us for details!

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Miss. Cathy

Like my employers, Ed and Glen, I am fascinated by science. I love nature and every time I'm in my wooded wonderland it is most amazing to me that everything can be explained through science and scientific experiments.  But I am even more in love with HAVING FUN!!!  A big kid at heart, I enjoy playing with my two boys every day and showing them how to be curious about their surroundings.  I truly enjoy performing at birthday parties and seeing so many kids learn while having a super good time.  As a daughter of two public school teachers, teaching is in my blood, and I'm having a great time carrying on that legacy.

Prior to having children and becoming a stay-at-home mom, I worked in the insurance and real estate fields - not fun!  I am a graduate of Temple University with a degree in Psychology.  I am really excited about working, having fun and helping kids learn about art and science - and learn that learning itself can be fun and exhilarating!

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Ashley Schmidt, aka Princess Asley

SCIENCE ROCKS!!!

My passion for science started somewhere around the time my seventh grade science fair project was due. It was Friday, my project was due Monday, I had the past two months to work on it and I had not a clue as to what I was going to present. So of course, I waited a little longer until my mom introduced me to genetics. I was blown-away by how interesting it all was, and created an amazing project showing why even though my mom’s eyes are green, mine are blue. It lead to high school curriculum full of six honors science courses including: Earth and Space, Biology, Chemistry I &II, Genetics, and Microbiology. In fact, my senior graduation project was based on a career in Biotechnology.

After graduation, I attended Temple University to pursue science, but had a difficult time deciding which path to choose. For almost 4 years I dabbled in biology, pharmacy, nursing, and even accounting only to discover that I wanted to teach science to others. I now have an A.A. in Education from Lehigh Carbon Community College, and am trying to finish my B.A. in Secondary Education Science back at Temple University, Philadelphia.

It is my personal goal, through the help of Super Science and Amazing Art, to begin sharing my passion for the sciences with others. I want everyone, especially women, to know how awesome science can be. My mother encouraged me to have a scientific mind by sharing her passion for Genetics. Unfortunately for her, and many women of her generation, she was not encouraged to pursue a career in the Sciences. I take great pleasure in getting our youth and especially young women enthusiastic about Science and all it has to offer.

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Mr. Glen

Hi, my name is Glen Beitmen. I am co-owner and one of the instructors at Super Science and Amazing Art.

Super Science started by accident. I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida to go back to college and earn my teaching degree. Although I have taught for over 7 years at colleges, pre-schools, and have worked with the mentally and physically challenged, I wanted to teach at public schools.

When to Florida from PA I began to research colleges and look for work. What I found was the United Arts Council. Their mission is to enrich lives and strengthen communities through the power of the arts. I have an Art Degree from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and have worked as an Art Director on projects for the Sony Playstation. As a game designer, I have directed projects such as Blue's Clues Big Musical and Scooby Doo's Jinks at the Sphinx.

The UAC and I developed the "Character Building Animation Class", that I ran at three different schools in Immokalee. The class taught positive character traits, emotions, and self awareness through the art of animation and cartoons. The class was a success.

We had such as great time that I wanted to write tons of other classes. From my experience with teaching Mad Science in New Jersey and running my own science-based classes at the Club House for Kids in New Hope, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. UAC loved the idea and Super Science and Amazing Art was born.

We wanted to create a perfect mix of science and art to blend with our students' natural curiosity and love of creating new things. Also, we wanted to make them a part of everything, so they are acting during the discussions, doing the experiments, and creating projects that communicate what they have learned. They keep the projects so they can show their parents, and keep learning outside of the classroom.

We are constantly adding new and exciting programs to our curriculum, so I learn new things every day.

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Ed Gifford, aka Mr. Ed

When I was a kid, I became fascinated by chemistry and physics. I would ask my father, a Navy engineer, endless questions about space, the speed of light, and why we put chlorine in the swimming pool.

As I got older, my fascination led to playing with a hobby chemistry kit, looking at the planets through my telescope, and endless piles of books on physics and chemistry.

Eventually, I made my way to college. I started out by studying chemistry and mathematics. However, I was ultimately bit by the tech fad of the late 1990s and switched my studies to computer science.

After college, I began a career as a software engineer in Philadelphia, PA. I worked in the life insurance sector, programming computers to perform actuarial calculations. As part of my work, I conducted many training sessions for my co-workers and our clients. During these training sessions, everybody told me I’d be a great teacher.

When Glen told me his idea for Super Science and Amazing Art, it sounded to good to be true. It combined everything I loved: science, teaching, and running a company. So, I left my software career in Philadelphia and moved to Florida to help Glen start the company.

Teaching has been really great for me. It is so much more interesting than sitting behind a computer and writing code. It allows me to share my love of science with kids who are excited to learn about it.

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