Shucking scallops during Teacher at Sea program.

Discovery Hall Programs welcomes Virginia Driskell to the team. Driskell comes to DHP after eight years in the classroom, bringing a wealth of classroom experience to the programs. 

Driskell grew up in Theodore, Alabama and developed a love for marine life at an early age after spending many hours exploring nearby beaches and bays with her family.  

Driskell is a firm believer in hands-on activities. In her classroom, she led her students in activities that include dissecting owl pellets, designing better sails, creating food webs, and keeping journals of the science activities.  

Virginia Driskell in class with her students.

In 2013, Driskell was selected for NOAA’s prestigious Teacher at Sea (TAS) program and spent three weeks at sea helping to collect scientific data on sea scallops off of the coast of Massachusetts. Three years later, she participated as a TAS alum in a research cruise out of Kodiak, Alaska studying pollock population dynamics.  She also participated in the DISL’s summer workshop on fisheries and has served as a counselor for DHP’s summer camps. These opportunities reinforced her love of all things marine and she is excited to be able to combine this with her love of teaching by joining the Discovery Hall Progreams' team.  

As a part of her Master’s work, Driskell developed several WebQuests for the Environmental Studies Center in Mobile focused on terrestrial species.  She is looking forward to switching her focus to marine species as she develops new educational tools and programs for Discovery Hall Programs.  

Driskell is an outdoors person and enjoys kayaking, scuba diving, rafting, hiking and swimming in the waters around Dauphin Island with her German Shepherd, Atlas.   She loves to travel and try new things including a recent skydiving adventure!  

Driskell has a BS in elementary education and a MS in Instructional Design from the University of South Alabama.