Colleagues,

I'm the curator of The Neighborhood Nature Museum in Greensboro, NC.
The Nature Museum is a satellite museum of the Natural Science Center of
Greensboro.  Beginning in July, The Nature Museum and its neighbor
facility, the Caldcleugh Multicultural Arts Center of Greensboro City
Arts, are producing a full-day arts and science summer day camp for ages
6 -12.  Both operations serve primarily the same low-income communities
in southeast Greensboro.

Recently, a local computer learning firm agreed, as part of our summer
offerings, to demonstrate at our camp the wows! of the Web.  Over a two
to three hour period in one day, our summer campers will have a guided,
hands-on experience on the Web.  They will visit pre-bookmarked science
and nature related sites.  The company is donating both the necessary
equipment & IP, and staff time for the day.

THE BIGGER DEAL IS . . . that in our original proposal, I inquired with
the company about enabling our campers to talk with and view, in real or
as near to real time as a non ISDN phone line can get, a museum educator
at another science/nature museum located out of town.  The whole
connection would take place via the Internet.  As each of week of summer
camp is assigned a particular science/nature theme, campers would
present to the distant educator, pre-written questions regarding that
theme.   Campers would present their questions to the on-screen
science/nature educator.  And he, she, or they would respond live.

This local firm has the necessary expertise and equipment to carry out
this program.  No date has been set.  But we do expect for the program
to occur between July 6 and August 1 (the dates of summer camp).  A date
will be set by Monday, July 7.  We do know that they will be using PCs.
Since the week of July 14 is our week of outer space studies, we're
hoping that the firm will select a date from this week.  Obvisiouly, the
project's success requires also the participation of another museum,
that is equally interested in distance education.  Of course that museum
should have access to the web, a high speed modem, computer camera, a
computer microphone, and the supporting software for audio/visual
internet communications.

There are more details still.  So to our colleagues on museum-l, who may
be interested in partnering with The Neighorhood Nature Museum on this
one day, two to three hour long project, we would ask that you please
e-mail or call me at:

Orrie Crews
[log in to unmask]
               OR
(910)274-8483 - The Neighborhood Nature Museum of
                            Natural Science Center of Greensboro, Inc.

Thank you.

Orrie Crews