The Andrew McBride Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) recently presented its Women in History award to Millie Chamblee, for her commitment and contributions to education. The society promotes historic preservation, patriotism and education through its projects and initiatives.

  Chamblee grew up in Jackson, Miss., just after World War II. A lifelong proponent of education, she served as a member of the Girl Scouts of America in high school. As a senior, Chamblee went to New York to participate in the United Nations with Eleanor Roosevelt.

  Chamblee attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi, majoring in Science Education. After graduation, Chamblee moved to Georgia and taught at Babb Middle School in Clayton County. She also earned a Master’s in Education degree from West Georgia College.

  Throughout her life, Chamblee has traveled the world with national and international entities, promoting education for science, nature and history. She was part of the Teacher-at-Sea Program aboard the Miller Freeman ocean vessel in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Chamblee did research on marine life in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, studied the tides, and swam with the manatee in Florida and visited the Galapagos Islands.

  She then worked with NASA’s Solar Ambassadors to Education program. She researched the solar system, ozone depletion, and shuttle trajectories with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

  Chamblee also engaged her students in pen-pal lessons with the

International Space Station. She collected data from NASA satellites, telescopes and the space station to use in the classroom.

  Chamblee was later selected as a board member for the National Science Teachers Association, becoming a presenter at conventions nationwide.

  She spoke about the Journey North program and her work in studying the migration patterns of the Monarch butterfly. In this program, Chamblee and her students mapped paths from Canada to Mexico.

  Chamblee’s career also includes her work with Earth Watch, conducting research on plants, insects and wildlife. As part of the Earth’s Extremeophiles Amazon Project, she traveled to the Amazon Rainforest and Brazil, and identified two unknown species of fish.

  During breaks from teaching school, Chamblee’s educational travels included visits to botanical gardens in Japan and China. She participated in dinosaur fossil digs with the Canadian Museum of Natural History Prehistoric Research Group, and a week’s safari in Africa to study animal behavior related to climate change.

  Chamblee retired in 2010 after almost 40 years in the classroom, and joined several foundations and worked to secure grant money in the name of education. She is active with organizations including the Master Gardeners, the Atlanta Aquarium, Reynolds Nature Preserve, and Stately Oaks.