The Children's Museum of Denver(TM) Announces $1 Million Science Initiative And Environmental Literacy Collaboration with The Jane Goodall Institute(TM)

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TO EDUCATION AND SCIENCE EDITORS:

The Children's Museum of Denver(TM) Announces $1 Million Science Initiative And Environmental Literacy Collaboration with The Jane Goodall Institute(TM)

Nearly 22,000 Denver Public Schools, Second Grade Students to Benefit

COLORADO, DENVER, Feb. 14 -/E-Wire/-- World-renowned conservationist, Dr. Jane Goodall and The Children's Museum of Denver today announced a $1 million Science Initiative and Environmental Literacy Collaboration. Calling it "a Valentine's Day gift to the environment," the Museum's Science Initiative goal is to foster respect and compassion for all living things and to inspire young children and their adult caregivers to take action to make the world a better place for animals, the environment, and the human community. Simultaneous with this announcement is the celebrated kick-off of the Museum's development campaign for funding the Science Initiative and Environmental Literacy Collaboration.

The initiative includes a three-year, $360,000 environmental literacy program for 22,000 DPS second grade students and 250 DPS second-grade teachers, scheduled to launch in fall of 2001; a 1,410 square foot Museum learning space to open in summer of 2002; and the addition of the Jane Goodall Institute's environmental and humanitarian program for youth and young children, "Roots & Shoots(R)" into The Museum's Family Programming beginning next month (March 2001). The Jane Goodall Institute is calling The Museum's Roots & Shoots program, "the largest single Roots & Shoots outreach effort in Colorado."

The Museum's programming and learning spaces are designed for newborn to eight-year-olds and their adult caregivers. The new learning space, entitled Under My Feet & Over My Head(TM), is a 1,410 square foot, oversized world that features plants, animals, and insects found in local yards and parks. It will be located on The Museum's second floor, and will be a hands-on environmental area where four to eight-year-olds are taught respect for other living things by "trying on an animal's life." It will include three areas of habitat: underground, ground, and treetop and will have the illusion of three different levels.

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), informal learning settings motivate learning and promote joyful discovery. Current research indicates that early exposure to science in an informal setting such as a museum is often the key, contributing factor to a later interest in science. NSF research also indicates that many with science-related careers credit their initial interest in informal learning opportunities, such as these proposed by The Children's Museum of Denver.

The Children's Museum of Denver is located at I-25 and 23rd Avenue (exit 211) in Denver. For more information about The Children's Museum of Denver's programs, exhibits and events, call (303) 433-7444 or visit our website at www.cmdenver.org.

The Children''s Museum of Denver

Wendy Holmes, [REDACTED-PHONE], cell, [REDACTED-PHONE], for The

Children''s Museum of Denver

http://www.cmdenver.org

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