More Than 18 Million Students Registered for the National Museum of the American Indian’s Electronic Field Trip

WASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — More than 18 million students will view an electronic field trip May 8, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian through a partnership with Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. The electronic field trip, “Listening to Our Ancestors,” will be a 60-minute live satellite broadcast and Web cast from Auke Bay in Juneau, Alaska, that is geared toward students in grades 5 through 9. The program will be broadcast twice via local public television stations – at 11 a.m. E.D.T. and 1 p.m. E.D.T.

To gain access to the live broadcast and Web cast of “Listening to Our Ancestors,” educators must register online on the Ball State University Web site, http://www.bsu.edu/eft, before the May 8 date of the electronic field trip. Online registration provides teachers with access to classroom lessons that will prepare students for the electronic field trip. The program will be archived by Apple Learning Initiatives and available through the Ball State University Web site.

“The National Museum of the American Indian is pleased to participate in its second electronic field trip with Ball State University. These electronic field trips help the museum fulfill its educational mission in reaching classrooms throughout the country,” said Tim Johnson, associate director for museum programs at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Focusing on the Native cultures of southeast Alaska, “Listening to Our Ancestors” will provide students with the opportunity to see how salmon is smoked over a pit, watch the art of weaving a Chilkat blanket and learn about the Alaskan landscape. Students from Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C., and the Tlingit Immersion program at Harborview Elementary School in Juneau, Alaska, will answer questions and participate in the electronic field trip’s activities. Students watching the broadcast or Web cast will be able to call in and ask questions live on the air.

Smithsonian Institution

CONTACT: Amy Drapeau, +1-202-633-6614 or drapeaua@si.edu, or LeondaLevchuk, +1-202-633-6613 or levchukl@si.edu, both of the SmithsonianInstitution

Web site: http://www.bsu.edu/eft