Five students from middle schools around Kansas entered a narrative contest that allowed them to tell the stories of their own families and experiences in the form of an essay, a poem, a video or Powerpoint presentation. Judges found similarities in the student works with the themes of the different sites. Winners were placed with the Parks site that best connected its theme with the students' entry.
KTWU-TV documented the students' experiences as they visited the national historic sites in Nicodemus, Fort Larned, and Fort Scott, as well as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Chase County.
The winning students featured in the television show include Becky Loepky, Satanta; Anne DeArmond, Lenexa; David Spivak, Leawood; Ryan Kelly,Topeka; and Joe Cheng, Coffeyville.
In partnership with KTWU and the Kansas State Department of Education, digital video cameras were donated to each winner's school for the students' use in telling their stories presented in the television program which airs across all Kansas PBS stations. The winners' schools will also receive a selection of media from the PBS documentary series, THE NATIONAL PARKS, AMERICA'S BEST IDEA by Ken Burns, for their school libraries or media resource centers.
Filmmaker Ken Burns provides on-camera congratulations to the winners in the television program.
The new program was produced by KTWU's Scott Williams with the assistance of National Park Service staff from throughout Kansas. Funding for the television special is provided by General Motors; the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund; Corporation for Public Broadcasting; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; Park Foundation, Inc.; Public Broadcasting Service; National Park Foundation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The Pew Charitable Trusts; and Bank of America.
If you have seen this program and want to read and watch the winning entries, visit this link.
If you would like a DVD of the program, visit our Support Page and select the "Sunflower Journeys: Companion DVD" at the $50 level of support.
The pledge premium disc includes the complete "Sunflower Journeys
Presents: The National Parks of Kansas" show, the "Reflections on The
National Parks" additional segment, and the first segment of the first
Sunflower Journeys show of the 2009 season, a "behind the scenes" look
at the collaboration of various agencies to complete "Sunflower
Journeys Presents: The National Parks of Kansas," and further comments
from students about the experience. Approximately 45 minutes of
content.
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