Museum to host educational broadcast from Belize

May 8, 2003
For Immediate Release
For education and science editors
Contact: Jon Pishney (919) 733-7450, ext. 305

RALEIGH—On May 13 and 15, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will host a live satellite broadcast of 'Where the Land and the Sea Intertwine: Connecting the Coastal Ecosystems of Belize.' The electronic fieldtrip combines live broadcasts with online curriculum to give K-12 students and teachers a chance to interact with scientists in the field. The program is part of a series of e-fieldtrips produced by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and developed by Ball State University Teachers College.

The first day of the program, geared for grades 5-9, takes viewers to the mangrove forests, diverse communities of trees that grow in the intertidal zone of tropical coasts. Scientists will show the plants and animals that make their home in and around these trees, and discuss adaptations such as salt tolerance that allow these trees to live where other plants can't. The second day, designed for grades 1-6, explores the life cycle of sea turtles, one of the animals that call the mangroves home. These migratory turtles visit the Carolina coast during summer.

Liz Baird, Museum coordinator of student outreach and distance learning, has led teacher workshops in Belize several times as part of the Museum's Tropical Ecology Institute. While the Museum is acting as a conduit for this program, Baird said she hopes to provide content for future North Carolina-based e-fieldtrips. "There are so many similarities between local and tropical ecosystems," she said. "Understanding this can change the way we teach about the natural world."

UNC-NC, one of four digital channels from UNC-TV, is providing the broadcast to the Museum as well as statewide. To find a station in your area, check www.unctv.org/unctvdtv/where/. To watch UNC-NC a viewer must either have access to a digital television receiver, or be a subscriber to Time Warner's digital cable service. UNC-TV is North Carolina's statewide public television network.

Mangrove Forests of Belize will be shown Tuesday, May 13, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sea Turtles of Belize will be shown Thursday, May 15, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Each program lasts approximately 90 minutes. All Museum showings are free and open to the public. To access curriculum materials or view the program online, go to www.bsu.edu/eft/3serc.html, www.projectview.org/WhereRiverMeetsSea.htm, or www.projectview.org/trackingseaturtles.htm. The program is made possible through the collaborative efforts of Best Buy Children's Foundation and Best Buy Inc., Ball Sate University, The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Apple Co. Inc., and the University of Belize.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.

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