Tory Brady was born in California, went to school at UC Berkeley, and finds herself still here in the blue state with the long coastline. She was a registered nurse before she became a teacher, a career change she has never regretted! At the Exploratorium Teacher Institute she works with teachers, helping to bring Exploratorium activities into the classroom, and facilitating the mentoring of new teachers by experienced ones. Tory spends lots of time up in the Sacramento River delta, exploring hidden waterways in a rubber boat. She and her husband have two grown children and two moody cats. Before coming to the Exploratorium, Tory was a classroom teacher in both elementary and middle school. She found hands-on science to be a great way to interest students, and lead them to experience the wonder and beauty of the natural world.