Pauletta Burke, center, poses with sisters Loretta and Edna while holding moon rocks from the Apollo missions. Pauletta, the first employee of the East Kentucky Science Center, has retired after 30 years with the center.
Since its opening in 2004, the East Kentucky Science Center has been said to bring a sense of adventure to the children who explore within its walls. Another constant at the center has been the presence of Pauletta Burke, who has been involved with the center since 1996.
After a 30-year career with the center, Pauletta has retired, but has not lost any of her enthusiasm for the center and hope for its continued success.
“I started at the center in 1996 as the first employee that the board of directors hired,” Pauletta said. “There was no director yet, so I was just getting stuff together for people to take to Frankfort to try to get funding for a center.”
The then single mother of three said she needed a job while she waited to take her respiratory therapist exam, and the opportunity was just what she needed.
Burke said she originally gathered surveys from teachers in the region, attempting to show the legislature that a science center was needed in Eastern Kentucky.
“It was a hard sell back then, but a lot of local folks went to Frankfort to advocate for the cause,” she said. “I started in ‘96 and went full-time in 97’, but we didn’t actually open the building until the spring of 2004.”
Burke said when the center’s doors finally opened, she was in charge of scheduling visits.
“When our school groups started coming, I scheduled with the teachers,” she said. “We got students from all surrounding 15 counties in Eastern Kentucky. I remember kids coming into the building in awe; they loved it and were amazed. I could often hear them in shock, watching the shows play across the dome, from out in the exhibit hall. It was so much fun seeing their smiling faces as they realized science was fun.”
Throughout her time at the center, Burke said she helped coordinate activities dealing with physics, electricity, animals and more.
“I was responsible for talking to the teachers about what they wanted to do at the center,” she said. “Teachers liked to tie into what they were discussing in the classroom. At times, we would create a program for classes with enough notice.”
Burke, who says she wasn’t initially a “science person”, said she enjoyed every day within the realm of the science center from 1996 until February 2026.
“I enjoyed going to work every single day; it wasn’t like a job, it was home,” she said. “I didn’t mind working five to six days a week; I knew why I was doing it, the kids.”
Burke said her fondest memories include summer camps during the months of June and July.
“I loved seeing kids come back, year after year, and seeing them make friends from other schools and counties,” she said.
Burke now has seven grandchildren, and said she had been considering retirement when she walked into the center last September and felt a change.
“I had been told that I’d know when it was time to retire,” she said. “This past September, I walked into the building and I started to cry; I knew it was time to leave, I just knew it. I cried all day because that place had been my baby, and was my building. When I walked out that evening, I knew it was time and a peace came over me.”
Burke continued to work until Feb. 1, and said the days since have been mixed with happiness and sadness. She said she takes comfort in more time with her grandchildren, and knowing the center is still where it’s been since 2004.
“It’s still there, and I still love telling people about it,” she said. “There’s still so much life in it, and I encourage people to go and use it. There’s something there for everyone; it’s educational and it’s fun.”
Burke said she urges all those interested in the night sky to visit the center and Varia Planetarium. In the meantime, Burke said she’ll enjoy the stars from her viewing spot in Johnson County, where she and her sisters often starwatch, while taking comfort in knowing that the building she once called home is always open for her to volunteer.