LAKELAND, FL, Sept. 30, 2009 — HISTORY® has awarded the Florida Air Museum at SUN ‘n FUN in Lakeland, Florida a $10,000 Save Our History grant to partner with the Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) of Kathleen High School, operating on the SUN ‘n FUN campus, for the collaborative development of a new museum exhibit featuring “Florida’s Flying Boats - the First Airline Passenger Service.” The project will document the world’s first airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, and the first airline passenger flight across Tampa Bay, January 1, 1914, by renowned test pilot Tony Jannus in a Benoist Model 14 flying boat biplane.
Incorporated within the Academy’s American History curriculum, the "Florida's Flying Boats - the First Airline Passenger Service" exhibit project will engage CFAA students in the creation of a ¼ scale replica of the Benoist flying boat plus participation in publicizing and video graphing the project. In addition to assistance from the Florida Air Museum staff and CFAA faculty, students will receive presentations from the American History faculty of Polk State College and the Florida Aviation Historical Society. The new exhibit is scheduled to be showcased in a special free museum day reception at the Florida Air Museum in May 2010.
The Florida Air Museum, Florida’s official aviation museum and education center, is one of 11 history organizations nationwide that received Save Our History community preservation grants. These grants fund innovative preservation projects designed to bring communities together, actively engage children in the preservation of their local history and communicate the importance of saving local history for future generations.
HISTORY, with the counsel of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) and American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), created the Save Our History Grant Program as an extension of the Save Our History philanthropic initiative and is committed to inspiring and motivating local communities to learn about and take an active role in the preservation of their past through projects involving artifacts, oral histories, sites, museums or landmarks that exist in their own neighborhoods. In four years, nearly 2,000 historic organizations, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia have applied for funding through the Save Our History Grant Program. To date, HISTORY and its cable partners have given over $1 million dollars to fund community preservation projects across the country.
In addition to this project, HISTORY is also awarding Save Our History grants to historic organizations in Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
“HISTORY receives stacks of applications for Save Our History grants,” said Dr. Libby O’Connell, SVP, Corporate Outreach and Chief Historian, HISTORY. “(Organization) demonstrated the creativity and commitment to preservation and education that we believe is fundamental to giving our past a bright future.”
Historic organizations interested in receiving funding for preservation projects developed with local schools or youth groups are encouraged to apply for a 2010/2011 Save Our History Grant. Applications will be available in January 2010, online at www.saveourhistory.com.About Florida Air Museum, Lakeland, Florida
The Florida Air Museum was formally founded in 1987 and designated as Florida’s official aviation museum and education center by the state legislature in 2003. It is located on the SUN 'n Fun, Inc. campus at 4175 Medulla Road, Lakeland, Florida 33811. The Museum engages visitors through its unique display of aircraft and special exhibits in the significant role Florida has played in the history and development of aviation. The Museum also presents a unique collection of artifacts from the Howard Hughes Aviation Collection. For more information about the Florida Air Museum and its schedule of special events, lectures and the additional benefits of membership visit www.FloridaAirMuseum.org, call (863) 644-2431 or e-mail [email protected].About Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors helps donors create thoughtful, effective philanthropy throughout the world. Originally developed as the private philanthropy service of the Rockefeller family, RPA is now an independent, nonprofit service that represents the cumulative knowledge and experience of more than a century of high-quality professional service to America’s most philanthropic family. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors provides research and counsel on charitable giving, develops philanthropy programs, and offers complete program, administrative and management services for foundations and trusts. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors currently serves more than 160 clients in facilitating over $200 million in annual gifts/grants to more than 60 countries.
About AASLH
AASLH was born in 1904 as a part of the American Historical Association. Over one hundred years later, AASLH is the only national association dedicated to the people and organizations that practice state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. These history organizations are American leaders in preserving, researching, and interpreting traces of the past to connect the people, thoughts, and events of yesterday with the creative memories and abiding concerns of people, communities, and our nation today. History organizations are foremost education institutions, and they excel in creating the enlightened, engaged citizenry that the founders envisioned. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides a variety of programs and services, as well as leadership in the national arena.
About Save Our History Educational Materials
The History Channel, in collaboration with leading educators from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), developed a comprehensive Educator’s Manual containing standards-based lesson plans, enrichment activities, and resources that help elementary, middle and high school teachers connect American History content to their local history. The manual guides teachers to engage students in hands-on, experiential preservation projects. The Educator’s Manual is supplemented by monthly Save Our History lesson plans available to educators who register online to receive them at www.saveourhistory.com. To date, more than 60,000 educators at schools, youth groups, history museums, and historic sites have used the educational materials to teach over 1.8 million students about their local history and the importance of preserving it.About Save Our History
Save Our History is an Emmy® Award-winning strategic philanthropic initiative of History that launched in 1998, designed to further historic preservation and history education. The program supplements the teaching of history in America’s classrooms, educates the public on the importance of historical preservation and motivates communities across the country to help save endangered local historic treasures. The Save Our History campaign includes original documentaries, special teacher materials, national promotion on The History Channel, broadband activities in schools, and has worked with The Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National World War II Memorial, American Rivers and The White House 200th Anniversary.
Additional information about the grassroots Save Our History program, including a comprehensive school manual containing suggested lesson plans for grades two through 12 and details about working with local preservation organizations can also be found at www,saveourhistory.com.About History
HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™ are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as How The Earth Was Made, Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including 102 Minutes That Changed America, King, Life After People, 1968 with Tom Brokaw, Nostradamus: 2012 and Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, four Primetime Emmy® Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY web site, located at www.history.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more.
