September 16, 2004

Mackinac Island, Mich. - John VanWyke of the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, presented Mackinac State Historic Parks Director Phil Porter with a $9,810 grant to develop educational Web site materials for students.   The grant was made as part of the Verizon Connects program, which seeks to partner with the nonprofit community to expand their capacity through the use of technology.

The new educational material is currently in development, and will join a selection of resources on the Mackinac State Historic Parks' Web site, www.MackinacParks.com, that includes lesson plans, activities, and a knowledge base and virtual tour of the Straits of Mackinac region called Virtual Mackinac.  Virtual Mackinac, also financed by a grant from Verizon, has registered over 60,000 hits since going online in March of 2004.

All the material included in the new educational pages will correlate with, and support, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Curriculum Framework Standards.

"Our Web site functions as an educational resource, providing information about exhibits, curriculum materials and resource links to other sites," said Mackinac State Historic Parks Museum Educator Katie Cederholm.  "It brings some of Michigan's earliest history to classrooms throughout the state that are unable to visit the Straits of Mackinac, and it helps classes that do visit prepare for their field trips.  Students enjoy touring the past and learning through an innovative and creative medium."

Mackinac State Historic Parks' education program includes teachers' educational packets, a variety of multimedia and hands-on classroom resources and a question and answer Ed Line (telephone hotline).  Each winter education outreach teams visit schools around Michigan to bring the history of Mackinac to classrooms.  Over 45,000 schoolchildren visit the parks in the spring.

Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and parks in Northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac region, and is an agency of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. The sites include Fort Mackinac, Historic Downtown and Mackinac Island State Park on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Historic Mill Creek and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City.  The sites are accredited by the American Association of Museums.  Visitor information is available on the Web at www.mackinacparks.com and by phone at (906) 847-3328 or (231) 436-4100.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.