Beth Crownover guides the National Air and Space Museum's Education and Visitor Services Teams team in leveraging the Museum’s collections and research to spark visitor curiosity and empower learners to envision the possibilities of the future. With over 25 years of experience in informal education and museum operations, she is particularly interested in how museums can increasingly become an integral part of learner’s personal ecosystems.
Inherently motivated by the idea of all learners seeing themselves in museums and cultural organizations, Beth works alongside team members to develop opportunities to meet learners here they are. Examples include the implementation of a fully hybrid lecture program, sharing stories of diverse innovators and explorers who challenged conventions and changed the world via monthly Soar Together at Air and Space Family Days, and development of a digital hub of learning resources for all ages.
Beth is also among the primary stakeholders for the Bezos Learning Center, including envisioning not only the physical space, but also the activations that will take place within and emanate from the Center.
Prior to joining Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Beth spent over 20 years at The Field Museum in Chicago, where she led the Learning Team and contributed to the development and daily operations of several learning spaces including the Crown Family PlayLab, the Grainger Digital Media Studio and Grainger Science Hub.
Crownover has a BA with majors in history and religion and an emphasis in Education and an Executive Scholar Certificate for Nonprofit Management from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.