Aaron Vanderwerff is passionate about engaging students in making and independent inquiry in the classroom, particularly students underrepresented in STEM fields. Over the past four years, Vanderwerff has integrated making (a combination of engineering practices, science, arts, technology, and crafts) into a class culminating in students exhibiting their independent projects at the Maker Faire. This year, he has worked with teachers K-12 on integrating making into their classes. Vanderwerff has taught high school science in the Bay Area for the past ten years. Before joining Lighthouse, he taught ninth-grade physics, was science department chair, and coordinated ninth-grade interventions at San Lorenzo High School; and taught math in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso.
