Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer and director of the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute (TFI) has an extraordinary gift for communicating science. He has brought national recognition to Philadelphia and TFI and has made a significant impact on the scientific community. As director of the Fels Planetarium, Derrick is a leader in the industry. His signature shows, including To Sky & Back which he co-wrote and produced with Sky-Skan, have been viewed by millions of people.
He takes advantage of every avenue at his disposal to engage wide audiences with the marvels of science. Pitts appears frequently on History, Discovery, Science, NatGeo, NOVA, CBS, PBS, BBC, and MSNBC. He has made appearances on documentaries viewed all over the world as well as The Colbert Report and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
During the pandemic, Pitts Museum’s popular Night Skies in the Observatory programme was conducted virtually. Ever since, people from all over the world have signed up for his monthly Night Skies@Home program on TFI’s social media pages.
Since 2009, he has been a NASA Solar System Ambassador. He was the first to hold the “Astrobiology Ambassador” role for the NASA/MIRS/UNCF Special Program Corporation’s Astrobiology Partnership Program.
Over 10,000 children were introduced to space science because of his leadership of the four-year, citywide astronomical observing programme, “City Skies; Linking Neighbourhoods to NASA through Urban Observing,” which was funded in part by a NASA grant and aimed to encourage participation in NASA’s missions among residents of Philadelphia’s inner-city neighbourhoods. That programme gave rise to the present NASA-affiliated “Mission2Mars” programme, for which he serves as co-PI for TFI and content director.
The TFI is a creative leader in science and technology education. By providing access to practical science education, the attraction aims to ignite a passion for science learning. Founded in 1824, it is the most popular museum in Pennsylvania and one of the top science institutions in the nation.