3,000 MARICOPA COUNTY STUDENTS TO VISIT RAINFORESTS
HONEYWELL DONATES $238,000 TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
Phoenix, March 5, 1999 - About 3,000 students throughout Maricopa County, including those in the Deer Valley, Paradise Valley, Glendale and Washington school districts, will traipse through the tropical rainforest of the Peruvian Amazon, the temperate rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula and a fossilized rainforest in Colorado, guided by some of the very scientists who know the areas the best.
It's all being made possible through live interactive broadcasts, a program developed by the discoverer of the Titanic wreckage, Robert Ballard, Ph. D., and a $238,000 grant from Honeywell.
The project gives Arizona schoolchildren the opportunity to share the experience of scientific discovery by participating in a scientific study and expedition. As one of 30 JASON sites worldwide, fourth- through eighth-grade classes will participate in the project. Each class was given a curriculum and has spent several weeks studying the rainforest. Students will travel the rainforests via a variety of technologies.
"Honeywell is involved with the JASON project because it's a great way to raise the awareness of math, physics and science to Arizona students, said Duane Yourko, manager of Public Affairs for Honeywell in the Valley. There is enough diversity demonstrated year-in and year-out in the JASON project that a student could view this experience and say 'I want to be an engineer or scientist when I get older.'
"The JASON project makes science fun for students who participate, he said. It takes the theory of science and shows how it can be practically applied in a very fun and unique way using unique technology,"
Arizona students will experience what's occurring in the field, get a close-up look at rainforest flora and fauna. Students will get a chance to talk to scientists involved in the rainforest research. Animals, plants and products from the rainforest will be available for students to learn more about
The Arizona Science Center is located at 6005 E. Washington Street in downtown Phoenix.
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