Dr. Martin Horejsi visiting the Rateldraai Meteorite in Cape town, South Africa. This 550 kg iron meteorite was found on a farm in 1901, and like all iron meteorites, it is 4.6 billion years old and is similar to that of the nickel iron core of our Earth.

Inspiring Professor—Dr. Martin Horejsi

I love science. I always have. Whether catching tadpoles, flying paper airplanes, or collecting rocks, the world of science was my playground while I was growing up. When it came to school, I was interested in everything. In fact, when my elementary school teachers let us choose the location of our desks, I always chose the spot next to the shelf of encyclopedias so I could read them whenever given the chance. In a way it was like surfing the internet is now. I would open an encyclopedia at random and dive into the words and pictures.

Later I discovered that teaching science was the perfect job to continue studying science, meeting scientists, and of course, playing with science. While a science teacher in Idaho, I discovered the magic of space exploration and meteorites-those rocky visitors from somewhere other than earth. Suddenly it was as if my previous experience with science was only one volume of a whole set of encyclopedias.

Today, as a professor of science education and instructional technology at the University of Montana, I can look back over the years and see where every tadpole, paper airplane and rock that caught my interest helped guide me towards a career doing what I love…learning!