WHYY spearheads web site and school project on oceans as part of Expo '98

The Educational Services Department of WHYY, the prime public television station serving the Philadelphia region, in conjunction with the Franklin Institute, is enabling students from the Frederick Douglass Elementary School in Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion cluster to visit the international fair, EXPO '98 regularly--via the Internet.

Expo '98 kicks off May 22 in Lisbon. These second, third and fourth graders will be among the participants from 145 countries, who are presenting exhibits--both on the Internet and in person--around the theme of "The Oceans--A Heritage for the Future."

"We're very excited to participate in an international event of this magnitude," said Dr. Roger D. Mitchell, WHYY's Vice President for Educational Services. "This is an excellent way to use our telecommunications resources to introduce our Philadelphia students to their counterparts from around the world, and to have them learn together about the importance and value of our oceans."

WHYY has been designated by the United States Information Agency to provide these selected students with information on class activities, curriculum, and teacher resources around the theme of water.

The Douglass students' Web exhibit is based on a field trip in April to Island Beach State Park in Seaside Park, N.J., where they investigated the coastal ecosystem. During the trip, the first glimpse of the ocean for many of the students, they collected samples of rocks, soil and water, which they have tested in the classroom. Their report focuses on the differences between the bay and the ocean environments.

Their real journey to the Atlantic inspired "Undersea and Oversee," a virtual voyage created by the Franklin Institute that takes visitors to Web sites around the world to explore the latest ocean information. (View the website).

The Internet is playing a major role in the EXPO, which is sponsored by the United States Information Agency; in addition to the WHYY project, Web sites from NASA, Michigan State University, marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle, among others, are also being posted.

This won't just be a virtual trip to EXPO '98 for a select group of the Philadelphia participants. Four students, a teacher, two representatives from the Franklin Institute, and Dr. Mitchell, will get to visit Lisbon in early September to present their findings, conduct demonstrations, and attend a dinner sponsored by U.S. Commissioner General, the Honorable Tony Coelho. A special ceremony at a fountain outside the U.S. Pavilion will bring together the Douglass students and children from Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, Lisbon and other parts of the world.

"It will be a co-mingling of the world's waters by the world's children," Dr. Mitchell said.

Since its founding more than 40 years ago, WHYY's purpose is to serve the community through telecommunications by contributing to the quality of life through education, information, entertainment and inspiration.