Press Releases

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE LEWIS & CLARK BICENTENNIAL AND
THE QWEST FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE NEW EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN

Students Can Now Go “Back to School with Lewis & Clark”;
New Web Site Connects Past to Present for Today’s Students

July 28, 2004 -- The National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, the organization congressionally designated to coordinate the National Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commemoration, announced today that it will be distributing educational CD-ROMs to educators across the country. Made possible by a $320,000 grant from the Qwest Foundation, the CD-ROMs allow students to explore important aspects of the expedition, as well as its modern legacy, through the eyes of historians and American Indians. The Qwest Foundation will also distribute the educational materials in its 14-state territory.

The CD-ROM includes a curriculum for fourth through 12th grades designed under the guidance of Dr. Robert Archibald, president of the Missouri Historical Society, and a team of educators from St. Louis and Philadelphia. It is part of a “Back to School with Lewis & Clark” program that will connect 21st century students with the cultural, historic and scientific legacy of the 200-year-old Lewis & Clark expedition.

“The CD-ROM curriculum highlights the impact the Lewis & Clark expedition has had on the United States as well as historical information about the expedition and American-Indian tribes,” said Archibald. “With the Qwest Foundation grant, we were able to preserve and present the information in a format that can be easily used by educators throughout the United States for many years, but specifically through 2006 when Lewis & Clark events will be taking place.”

The curriculum allows teachers to easily incorporate the three- to six-lesson units into existing lesson plans and is linked to National Council for Social Studies and National Science Teachers Association standards. In addition to the educational program, the Qwest Foundation grant will help fund eight bicentennial signature events in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Washington, as well as brochures, posters and other materials.

“We are proud to support an educational program for students that illustrates the courage and accomplishments of the Lewis & Clark expedition, as well as the technological conveniences we often take for granted today,” said Ric Padilla, vice president of corporate responsibility for Qwest. “The National Council’s commemorative events and programs truly bring the expedition and its legacy to life.”

As part of the project, nationally known time-management specialist and author Peggy Duncan has compared the isolation of the Lewis & Clark expedition to the vast array of communication technologies students have at their fingertips today. The expedition could only communicate progress by sending members on long journeys back East. In one instance, on their return trip, members learned the “news” that Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had dueled – two years before. Duncan shows students how, 200 years later, technology, such as wireless phones, Internet and even shipping, would have made the expedition easier.

For additional information about the CD-ROMs, the Qwest Foundation and signature events, please visit www.BacktoSchoolwithLewisandClark.org.

Additional information about the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial can be found at www.lewisandclark200.org.

About Qwest
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