Content Strategy
Creating big wins for audiences and stakeholders alike
How audience insights inspired a long-running content initiative that brought NASA news into the classroom—and so much more.
Project Title: Teachable Moments
Summary: I created Teachable Moments as a way to engage education audiences around a key website traffic-driver: NASA news. Under my editorial direction, the long-running article series became its own traffic magnet, earning millions of views, scaling JPL Education’s digital reach, and fostering new partnerships and funding.
My Role: Content Strategy • Editorial Direction • Editing • Web Production • Digital Strategy
The Opportunity:
Riding the NASA News Wave
I was looking for ways to boost traffic to the JPL Education website to show JPL and NASA stakeholders how we could help them engage key education audiences.
Digging into Google Analytics, I noticed a pattern: When the site had content tied to a major NASA news event, traffic spiked.
So I set out to build a content initiative that could ride those news waves, support our audiences, and deliver the kind of reach stakeholders were looking for.
The Goals:
Real-World STEM
My goal was to develop a content initiative that would:
Help educators connect their teaching to NASA news.
Inspire students with real-world STEM.
Drive traffic to the JPL Education website.
Deliver measurable wins for stakeholders.
The Work:
Seizing the Moment
Enter, Teachable Moments. Working closely with JPL’s K–12 education specialists, I developed this article series to help teachers translate NASA news into timely, classroom-ready lessons.
To make the series credible and useful for teachers, we decided it should be written by JPL’s education specialists. Each article would provide important educational context on the news and link to related lessons and activities to help educators take action and help us drive traffic to our digital resources.
Here’s how I brought Teachable Moments to life:
Created the concept and framework for the article series.
Trained JPL education specialists in news-style writing and structure.
Provided editorial direction and review to shape clarity, voice, and alignment with NASA messaging.
Directed web production, incorporating multimedia assets and strategically linking to JPL’s digital resource library.
Coordinated timing and messaging with Media Relations, Social Media, and Public Outreach.
Led digital strategy across social media, email, and partner communications.
The Impact:
Big Wins and Beyond
Teachable Moments quickly became one of JPL Education’s most popular initiatives, proving itself a valuable audience engagement tool and earning critical stakeholder support.
From 2015 to 2024, the team produced nearly 60 Teachable Moments, helping educators bring NASA events like Mars landings, asteroid encounters, and scientific breakthroughs into the classroom.
The articles consistently ranked among the top traffic drivers on the JPL Education website, with some earning more than 250,000 page views.
Teachable Moments also sparked the highest engagement across JPL Education’s email and social media channels, resonating with educators and space-enthusiasts alike.
Crucially, the initiative helped shift internal perception, elevating the team's visibility, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and opening doors to new collaborations and internal funding.
The series became a foundational tool that supported nearly every aspect of JPL’s K–12 education efforts, from digital engagement and content strategy to educator workshops and outreach.
All told, Teachable Moments drove millions of page views, significantly expanded JPL Education’s reach, and helped establish the organization as a trusted source for relevant, timely STEM learning.
Credits
Content Strategy: Kim Orr
Editorial Direction: Kim Orr
Writing: Ota Lutz, Lyle Tavernier, Brandon Rodriguez
Editing: Kim Orr
Web Production: Kim Orr, Lyle Tavernier
Digital Strategy: Kim Orr, Lyle Tavernier
Social Media: Kim Orr, Lyle Tavernier