CPB Awards American History and Civics Initiative Grants

For Immediate Release on July 6, 2007

$20 Million Program Targets Middle and High School Students

Today, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced grants to seven content creator - public television station partnerships as part of its groundbreaking American History and Civics Initiative.

The American History and Civics Initiative, launched in 2005, calls upon the country's public television managers, film makers, content developers - especially the high technology and interactive media sector - to join educators in creating groundbreaking media projects and methods that measurably improve the learning of American history and civics by middle and high school students.

"For too long, young people's knowledge of American history and civics has been on the decline," said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison. "Public broadcasting is in a unique position, along with our partners, to reach this audience through their cell phones, TVs, iPods, computers or other technologies to deliver meaningful, educational content they will use throughout their lives."

The grants, which range from $400,000 to $900,000, will allow partnerships to do further research and development as well as create and test a prototype or pilot of the projects. A second round of grants will be awarded for the implementation and production of those projects deemed most likely to measurably improve student learning of history and civics after research and development and/or prototype testing.

Public television stations and content developers selected for the American History and Civics Initiative:

"Young American Heroes." This multi-platform educational project is aimed at teaching American history to middle school students through stories of ordinary kids doing extraordinary things during seminal moments or our nation's past. Connecticut-based Docere Palace Studios is partnered with Connecticut Public Television, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and EDSITEment.

"Virtual Congress." This virtual, web-based game will simulate the creation and passing of a bill. Center on Congress at Indiana University is partnered with WTIU, Makena Technologies, the Close Up Foundation and there.com.

"Flashback." This multi-platform reality TV show and online game will have high school students completing curriculum-based missions in a race-type format throughout the U.S. San Francisco-based Floating World Media is partnered with Oregon Public Broadcasting, the institute for Next Generation Internet, Intersection Productions and Bay Area Video Coalition.

"Young History Detectives." This show builds upon the strong, nationwide response from educators and students to the popular PBS TV series "History Detectives." Teens across the nation will explore America's past by investigating objects which may have played a significant role in our history. Lion TV is partnered with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Gilder Lehrman Institute, Magic Lantern and others.

"Mission America." This website will center around an adventure videogame featuring 10 events ("missions") in American History. WNET is partnered with Electric Funstuff, Oxford U. Press, American Social History Project at City University of New York, NYC Department of Education and the National Council on Social Studies.

"American Dynasties." This multiplayer role-playing online game allows students to be a character that interacts with significant U.S. historical figures, encouraging students to role-play while learning about what actually took place in history, as opposed to recreating it. The Center for New American Media is partnered with WPSU, Rapid Reality Games, Kaneva Inc., and others.

"Liberty Under the Law." This integrated, multi-platform program in U.S. history and civics seeks to engage students in actively examining the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as documents with contemporary relevance in their own communities. KCET is partnered with The Center for Civic Education, Activision Inc, USC Game Lab, the National center for Teaching History in Schools and others.

WGBH in Boston, MA, will be the Initiative Manager on these projects. Most of these projects will be implemented in 2009.

About CPB

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.

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