Orrie Crews wrote:
>
> 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

Hello Orrie,

Until a couple of years back, I was responsible for several years for children's public programs at the Royal
Ontario Museum.  These programs, the Saturday Morning Club and the Summer Club used the ROM's Outreach
programs/facility's wonderfully equipped computer lab (six 200mhz pentiums with nice large screens, all
networked) to conduct some arts and science classes.  They used a combination of paint and 3D graphic programs
to model human and dino skulls, they wrote up a webpage(as part of a series of projects investigating the
evolution of language), and looked at dynamic systems models among other projects.  The Outreach Department was
also using an AT&T "Picasso" to conduct classroom to field interviews with researchers and curators.  These
programs are for up to 240 children ages 5-14, with a large group of youth volunteers and run concurrently with
your programs.

Julian Kingston ([log in to unmask])is the Program Coordinator who took up the coordination of the programs, I
am certain he would be very much interested in hearing about your project and sharing information and
experience.  David Rinaldo ([log in to unmask])is the manager of Outreach, and I am certain that he would like to
hear from you as well.

Please keep the list posted as to your investigations.  I am keenly interested in programs of this type. I've
just begun an intensive 10 month program in Mulitmedia Production at the Vancouver Film School, and hope to be
able to share my newly developed expertise in the public museum/gallery world.

Best of Luck!
Paul Toth
Vancouver, BC
Canada