* AVAILABLE EXHIBITION:

EARTH 2U, EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY, Version II

Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
(SITES) and the National Geographic Society

Due to a cancellation, there is an available booking from June 22, 1996,
through August 18, 1996.

* DESCRIPTION:

Unless you're an extra-terrestrial, you probably spend the majority of
your time here on Earth.  It's your home.  It's a convenient place to
stand--and you'd be lost without it.  But how much do you *really* know
about it?

EARTH 2U, EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY applies today#s most up-to-date
geographic teaching approaches--drawn from the National Geographic
Society#s newly updated geographic standards--through hands-on fun
for kids: things to lift up, turn around, touch, and smell; computer
interactives to play with and explore; digitally-imaged videos to watch
and learn from; funny cartoons drawn by noted illustrator Marc
Rosenthal; awesome National Geographic photographs; and amusing
text by children#s author Paul Rosenthal that asks questions, tells stories,
and teaches facts, skills, history, and lore.

A funny, spindly-legged cartoon bird named Seymour D. Earth serves as
mascot, tour guide, and teacher as he leads kids and their adults through
the exhibition. Version II contains these four sections:

INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY KIOSK: You don#t have to discover
anything to be an explorer.  You don#t have to wear a pith helmet, wade
through swamps, or go around presuming people are Dr. Livingstone.
EARTH 2U, EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY encourages you to become an
explorer in your own home, neighborhood, and universe.  This
introductory section prepares visitors for their adventure through the
exhibition with computer interactives that illustrate important geographic
concepts.

LANDSCAPES/LANDSHAPES:  Dorothy picked right up on the fact that
not every place looks like Kansas. (Except maybe Oklahoma.)  Land
comes in different shapes and colors:  mountains and plains, sand hills
and salt marshes, green forests, red deserts, and icy white tundras.
Where you are affects what you do, from the clothes you wear to the
foods you eat#and the home in which you live.  This section introduces
the many faces of the earth and shows how people, cultures, and
history are shaped by the shape of the land.

POPULATION:  Nothing affects geography more than people.  People dam
rivers, turn forests into farmland, and use up resources like oil, trees,
and water. They build houses and highways, breathe air, make garbage,
and generally take up space. They also have babies and invent
medicines that help them live longer. That#s why the earth#s population
will double in the next 40 years. (Just think about *that* the next time you
squeeze onto a crowded bus or wait in line for a movie.)  Designed to
look like a giant #6,000,000,000,# this section examines the impact of a
rapidly growing population on our earth.  Consumption facts, innovative
solutions, and a #Kids Did It!# game convey both the seriousness of the
degradation of our natural resources and the success of various
conservation programs around the world.

EVERYDAY THINGS:  It#s easy to think of the world as an enormous
place.  So big, in fact, that things that happen way over there couldn#t
possibly affect us here. This section shows how geography and trade
shape our lives, our lunch, everything#right down to the kitchen sink.
And we, as individuals, affect the world environment#here, there, and
everywhere.  #Everything comes from somewhere, even the kitchen
sink!# is the theme of this section, designed as an interactive #kitchen.#

* EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

The exhibition includes comprehensive educational materials for each
exhibitor.  These include:  an educational trunk, to keep, full of games,
maps, and learning activities; geography education curriculum guides
drawn from the National Geographic Society's geographic education
standards for museum educators and teachers; geography collector
cards and albums for every child that visits the show with a school
group, and classroom incentives such as buttons, pencils, magnets, and
stickers for school groups.

* FUNDING ASSISTANCE:

In conjunction with its national sponsorship of EARTH 2U, EXPLORING
GEOGRAPHY, Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A. is offering exhibitors the
opportunity to participate in "Challenge Journey:  A Fundraising
Adventure," a matching grant program.  For every dollar that exhibitors
raise from individual donors towards the costs of hosting EARTH 2U,
EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY, Nissan will match it with fifty cents, up to a
total matching gift of $10,000.  Devopment materials--including pledge
cards for donors and helpful hints to assist exhibitors in securing
donations--will be provided to each exhibitor.

* SPECIFICATIONS (Version II):

188 square meters (2,000 square feet)
$18,000 for 8 weeks, plus prorated shipping estimated at $7,500
Moderate security; some special requirements apply.
Exhibitors will be required to provide SITES with a complete and current
facility report.

* FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Please call the SITES Scheduling Office at (202) 357-3168 x4, or e-mail to
<[log in to unmask]> to receive a full packet of information about the
exhibition.  Other dates are also available for both Version I and Version
II, which will both travel into the next millenium.


EARTH 2U, EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY has been organized by the
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the
National Geographic Society.  The exhibition and educational programs
have been made possible through the generous support of Nissan Motor
Corporation U.S.A.

__________________
Nicole M. Bouvier
Scheduling and Exhibitor Relations Coordinator
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
<[log in to unmask]> e-mail
(202) 357-3168 x120 phone
(202) 357-4324 fax