THE WEATHER CHANNEL AND DISCOVERY EDUCATION GIVE STUDENTS AN INSIDE LOOK INTO THE SCIENCE BEHIND SEVERE WEATHER AND PREPAREDNESS
- Live Virtual Field Trip Kicks Off Multi-year Partnership to Deepen Weather Education in Schools Nationwide -
December 5, 2013
Silver Spring, MD (December 5, 2013) - Discovery Education is announcing a multi-year partnership with The Weather Channel to bring the science of weather and natural disaster preparedness to classrooms. These two trusted brands are launching this initiative with a virtual field trip to provide scientific expertise, weather curriculum and streaming content across multiple platforms.
Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content for K-12 classrooms, and The Weather Channel are continuing to reinforce the importance of severe weather safety among students and families with this extension of Connect with Weather, an ongoing national preparedness initiative. The live virtual field trip will be held at The Weather Channel's headquarters in Atlanta, GA. on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 1p.m. EST and hosted by on-air meteorologist Mark Elliot.
The virtual field trip allows students to meet meteorologists, tour The Weather Channel's studio and severe weather center and familiarize themselves with the equipment used to detect and forecast hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, floods, and ice. Students will become acquainted with the latest forecasting technology used to track storms and will gain an understanding of on-the-ground emergency preparedness. Using real-life, severe weather scenarios, such as Hurricane Sandy and the Denver floods, The Weather Channel meteorologists will integrate front-line experiences and personal stories to bring weather concepts to life.
Hall Davidson and Patti Duncan of Discovery Education, along with The Weather Channel's Mark Elliot, will also broadcast a live segment of the virtual field trip from Gompers Middle School in Los Angeles. The content of this segment will focus on severe weather phenomena prone to the Southern California region, including flooding and wildfires.
"I'm thrilled to share this opportunity with my classroom," said Mary T. McCullagh, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) board member and social studies educator at Christopher Columbus High in Miami. "Not only will this virtual field trip give my students an increasingly important look at severe weather preparedness, but it will also directly link the science they're learning in the classroom to the world that they're living in."
Teachers and students can submit questions in advance of the event and will also be able to submit questions and comments to meteorologists live via a Twitter feed. Discovery Education will provide teachers and students with supporting curriculum for the virtual field trip, including pre-event educational materials, videos, hand-on activities, school-to-home post event activities focusing on family preparedness and a collection of weather video content.
"We understand the devastating impact weather can have on local communities," said Jennifer Dangar, President of Distribution and Business Development for The Weather Channel. "We are thrilled to partner with Discovery Education to share with students our expertise on the science and technology behind natural weather disasters and the importance of preparedness."
"As severe weather increases in frequency across the country, so does the interest in the science behind it," said Lori McFarling, Chief Marketing Officer, Discovery Education. "We are proud to collaborate with The Weather Channel in bringing a broad array of interactive tools, content and experiences to classrooms to help deepen students' understanding of the STEM concepts behind the weather events of our time."
For more information or to register for the virtual field trip, please visit:http://www.discoveryeducation.com/connectwithweather/
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core, professional development, assessment tools, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Available in over half of all U.S. schools, community colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
About The Weather Company
The Weather Company is the world's leading weather authority. Through The Weather Channel, weather.com, Weather Underground, Intellicast.com and third-party publishing partners, the company provides millions of people every day with the world's best weather forecasts, content and data, connecting with them through television, online, mobile and tablet screens. Through WSI and Weather Central, the company delivers superior professional weather services for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors. The Weather Company is owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more information, visitwww.weather.com/press.
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