Grace Bennett-Pierre, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Psychology program at the University of New Mexico, where she studies how environments shape the cognitive and motivational factors that contribute to learning throughout the lifespan. Using mixed methods approaches, she investigates fiber arts as a context for practicing non-rigid spatial skills (e.g., thinking about bending, folding, and knotting), how non-rigid spatial skills support STEM learning, and the role of 3D map visualizations in Earth science learning. She is also interested in understanding how caregivers and educators shape child and adult learners’ challenge-seeking and STEM self-efficacy. Prior to working at UNM, she was a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at CIRES CEEE (2024-2026). In this role, she worked with an interdisciplinary team of educators and researchers to understand how people learn climate science from NOAA’s Science Science On a Sphere®, a 6-foot spherical display installed in museums around the world.