Two of the key problems facing museums and cultural institutions today are
that they rely on the public to come to their site, and that the public
perceives that these places do not change often enough to warrant frequent
visits. For a museum to be on the leading edge today, access to information
held in its collections and to expert staff must be made available to the
user off-site as well as to the on-site visitor.
 
The Friends of The Royal British Columbia Museum have embarked on Safari
'94:  The Barkley Sound Expedition - a series of interactive educational
programs that will introduce students to the wonder and practical
applications of science.  Safari will also investigate ocean depths and
ancient settlements that students might never see otherwise.  These
broadcasts will be seen throughout North America, as well as in Japan.
 
>From April 18 - 23, 1994, a vast team of Safari scientists, technicians,
divers, camera crews, and ten students (our "Safari Explorers") will
produce four live one hour shows each day.  Working closely with our Safari
Explorers, Simon Fraser University's ExCITE Lab will be on board the
broadcast control centre with up to ten of their staff, offering unique and
incredible expertise in high end multi-media technology and creativity.
The ExCITE Lab staff will publish an electronic daily newsletter designed
to capture the experiences and research findings of the Safari Explorers.
This newsletter will be faxed to students in participating classrooms
around the world and simultaneously distributed electronically via the
Internet.
 
Safari '94 will offer many opportunities for students to interact with the
broadcast event.  As well as viewing the program in the classroom, a number
of "Downlink Sites" are currently being established to allow for
audio-video interactivity with students from various theatre audiences.
Existing DownLink Sites include the Ontario Science Centre, the
Saskatchewan Science Centre, Carlton University in Ottawa, Science World
Vancouver, Smithsonian Institute Washington D.C., and more.  Currently, we
are planning on involving the Museum of the Desert in Palm Springs
California.  So as you can see, this program will certainly take students
from around the world to the ocean floor in Barkley Sound, a place they
might never otherwise experience.
 
We have established a list serve for general information and enquiries re:
Safari.  If anyone is interested in joining, please send a message to:
[log in to unmask]
with no subject, and no signature, in the body of the message type:
subscribe safari-l yourfirstname yoursurname
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Chris Shields, Manager, Corporate Relations
Safari Operations, Royal British Columbia Museum
514 Government Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 4X4
Tel (604) 480-1264 Fax (604) 387-1251
[log in to unmask]
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