Rachel Sargent Mirus

I am a teaching artist, science writer, and life long learner. As a teacher, my passion is to inspire observation, experimentation, and creativity in learners of all ages. Originally trained in biology and chemistry, I have worked in research labs and museums across the country, including the California Academy of Sciences, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and in Vermont at the Montshire and Fairbanks Museums. I now teach workshops for nonprofits and collaborate on school residencies that lead students to deepen their connections to nature, art-making, and the scientific process through open-ended and exploratory visual arts projects. 

While my primary passion is using art to teach life sciences, I also pursue my own artistic and educational goals, focused on science communications through nature writing and illustration. I use a variety of media, but especially graphite, watercolor, and acrylic. Increasingly I'm experimenting with make-it-yourself media from foraged materials. To me, using art or writing to communicate about nature is always about slowing down, looking deeper, and learning more about my subject, attitudes I incorporate into my teaching.