About me
I'm David, a secondary science teacher based in the Washington, DC area. Science has always been more than a subject to me. It's a way to connect with the world and inspire curiosity in others. My journey in science education began with my own passion for understanding the natural world, which I now share with my students every day.
Check out the pictures below to learn some more about my favorite things.
Me at the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory hall
The United States Botanic Garden is my favorite place on the National Mall, located just across the street from the U.S. Capitol. What makes it special to me is that it is more than a beautiful garden. It is a living plant museum where science, history, and nature come together.
Walking through the Conservatory feels like traveling through different ecosystems in one visit. The tropical rooms show how plants adapt to warm, humid environments, while the desert collections reveal how life survives with limited water. The orchids, medicinal plants, native species, and rare endangered plants all tell a larger story about biodiversity and the relationships between plants, people, and the planet.
As a science enthusiast, I appreciate the Botanic Garden because it turns abstract scientific ideas into something visible and alive. Adaptation, conservation, ecology, and sustainability are not just concepts on a page here, they are growing in front of you. It reminds me that science begins with curiosity and careful observation, and that even in the center of a busy city, nature can still teach us something powerful.
During a trip to Vieques, Puerto Rico, I had the chance to briefly observe a hermit crab up close before releasing it back into its habitat.
It was a small moment, but it reminded me why I love science: even the smallest organisms can reveal fascinating adaptations. Hermit crabs rely on borrowed shells for protection, turning something left behind by another animal into a mobile home. Seeing one in a coastal ecosystem made me think about how every species, no matter how small, has a role in maintaining balance in its own ecological niche.
Experiences like this remind me that curiosity often begins with simple observations, and that science is everywhere, from mountain landscapes to the edge of the ocean.
Seeking Science in the Landscape
My love for mountain hiking began after a trip to Yosemite National Park. I went for the scenery, but I left with a deeper appreciation for how landscapes tell scientific stories. Yosemite is not just beautiful because of its waterfalls, cliffs, and valleys—it is beautiful because those features reveal the power of geology, time, and ecology. Its granite walls and glacially carved valleys show how natural forces can shape the Earth over millions of years, while its forests, meadows, and diverse wildlife show how ecosystems adapt and thrive across changing elevations and conditions.
Since then, hiking has become one of my favorite ways to experience science outside the classroom. Every trail feels like an opportunity to observe patterns in nature: how plants change with altitude, how rock formations reveal Earth’s history, and how different species depend on one another within an ecosystem. Hiking reminds me that science is not only something we read about or teach, it is something we can walk through, question, and experience directly.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are one of the places that deepened my love for hiking because they show the quiet, layered beauty of an ancient landscape. Standing on the overlook, I was struck by how the ridgelines fade into different shades of blue, but what makes the view even more meaningful is knowing that these mountains are part of the long geological history of the Appalachians. The rocks, forests, watersheds, and wildlife corridors all connect to a larger story of time, erosion, and ecological resilience. For me, hiking here feels like observing Earth’s history from above.
Zhangjiajie National Forest felt completely different from any mountain landscape I had seen before. Its towering sandstone pillars rise out of the forest like natural skyscrapers, shaped over time by weathering, erosion, and the movement of water through the landscape. The terrain is so distinctive that geologists have recognized it as its own landform category. What amazed me most was how dramatic geology and rich ecosystems exist together: cliffs, mist, trees, ravines, and streams all forming a landscape that feels almost unreal. Zhangjiajie reminded me that nature can be both beautiful and scientifically fascinating, especially when we understand the forces that shaped it.