National Park Foundation Invites Students Across the Country on an Electronic Field Trip to Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park

May 18th field trip supported by Eccles Foundation will highlight unique park through LIVE broadcasts, lesson plans and interactive Web site

Teachers invited to register now for FREE program at www.brycecanyoneft.org

WASHINGTON, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Park Foundation is inviting schools across the country to explore the unique geological and paleontological resources of Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park in an Electronic Field Trip (EFT) on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010.  The program, Discovering the Mysteries of Bryce Canyon National Park, will include two live hour-long broadcasts (10am ET and 1pm ET) from Bryce Canyon National Park, made available on participating public television stations.  The broadcast will also be available online at www.brycecanyoneft.org, which also features interactive lesson plans and games.  The FREE program is designed for students in 4th through 8th grades.  

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"The Electronic Field Trip to Bryce Canyon is turning one of America's most stunning national parks into one of America's most interesting and exciting classrooms," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation.  "At a time when school budgets nationwide have been cut, the National Park Foundation is proud to connect students around the country to their parks, and provide this tremendous free resource for educators."

Free registration and participation are an important value to schools and teachers as education budgets continue to shrink.  For instance, in Utah, where Bryce Canyon National Park is located, the state education budget was cut by $9 million for next year, and no additional money was allocated for an additional 11,000 new students entering the school system.

The Bryce Canyon EFT is being made possible in part through support from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation.  "How thrilling it will be for these young people – especially those who have never experienced the extraordinary beauty of Bryce Canyon – to see and better understand this unique geological wonder," said Spencer F. Eccles, Chairman and CEO of the Eccles Foundation.  "We are delighted to partner with the National Park Foundation to help ensure the program reaches as many schools as possible."  

The EFT will explore Bryce Canyon's unique geological and paleontological resources—which have been shaped and etched by millions of years of water and temperature extremes.  

Interactive games and lesson plans on the EFT can be explored now by visiting www.brycecanyoneft.org where they are "hosted" by Professor Allister McFragilis, a cartoon Allosaurus.  Some of the interactive games include:

• The Case of the Missing Assistant, which takes students on a tour of the national parks of Southern Utah.
• The Case of the Mixed Up Hoodoos, which teaches students about hoodoos – tall thin spires of rock that are abundant in the Northern part of Bryce Canyon National Park - and then asks students to help find names for the famous hoodoos of the park.  

The complete curriculum is available for free at: www.brycecanyoneft.org.

To date, schools in 46 states and Japan, Canada, Germany, Cuba, Italy, and Switzerland have already signed up to participate in the program.  Educators wishing to sign up to participate can visit www.brycecanyoneft.org.  

For more information about the National Park Foundation's EFT program, visit:

http://nationalparks.org/npf-at-work/electronic-field-trip/

ABOUT THE GEORGE S. AND DOLORES DORE ECCLES FOUNDATION

The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, one of Utah's largest philanthropic foundations, awards grants in Utah supporting the arts and culture, community needs, education, health care, and preservation and conservation.  It partners with outstanding non-profit organizations whose activities contribute to Utah's strength and well being.  During the past decade alone, the Eccles Foundation has made more than 4,000 grants totaling in excess of $275 million.  www.gsecclesfoundation.org

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION

You are the part-owner of 84 million acres of the world's most treasured landscapes, ecosystems, and historical sites -- all protected in America's nearly 400 national parks.  Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks.  We work hand in hand with the National Park Service to help connect you and all Americans to the parks, and to make sure that they are preserved for the generations who will follow.  Join us – This is Your Land.  www.nationalparks.org

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SOURCE National Park Foundation