SOCIAL STUDIES/
HISTORY
Program Name
Postcards from America
[NSU]----->[IPCEC]::[SDNA]
PC----->[IQI]

Description:
LETTER OF INTRODUCTION Dear Teachers: As a former history teacher, I know how difficult it is to get students interested in places that seem far away, and far removed from their lives. Years ago teachers assigned us penpals to bring a distant land closer, to make it more tangible and more personal. But today we have the Internet, which pushes the penpal principle up a notch or two. That's what Postcards From.Com is all about. It's a unique travelogue covering every state in America and relaying images and information back through customized  "electronic" postcards, sent everyday to anyone with an Email account. My husband, Ken Mahlenkamp, and I are traveling to see 50 states in 50 weeks, a State-A-Week, including all State Capitol buildings. Every state gets equal time, regardless of the size or popularity of the state. We began this journey to "DISCOVER AMERICA" on Columbus Day (of course). Ken is an experienced photographer and graphic designer and I'm an avid researcher. Together, we create beautiful, informative, yet personalized "postcards" of each day spent in the State-of-The-Week.  For example, suppose one day we're in south Dakota, seeing Mount Rushmore. Ken will photograph it, using his digital camera, I'll research it, and when we get back to our trailer, we'll design the daily postcard together in our "cellular office" and send it out that very night. Viewers can see the exact weather conditions and image of that day's event. The design format is just like the postcards you find in your regular mailbox -- only it appears in your e-mail box instead -- (if you subscribe). The subscription is absolutely FREE and we do not release subscribers names or Email addresses to anyone. Attention stamp collectors . . . What's really fun is that each postcard has a unique Email postage stamp on the back. The first day's postage stamp may be the state bird; Day Two, the state flower; Day Three, the state flag, and so on. Or, in the case of Mount Rushmore, it might be Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor. Any philatelists out there need only go to our website to get an enlargement of the stamp and to find out more about the subject. This is an event the whole family can enjoy together. Students can participate at school, while parents receive the same postcards at work, thus creating a wonderful "teaching moment" each night at the dinner table. And, let's be honest, many parents can benefit from this as well. (Who really remembers all state capitals?) As all teachers know, students whose parents are involved in their schoolwork perform much better, and retain much more. Why are we doing this? Ken, and I always wanted to tour America, seeing every single state, not just the "favorites" like California, Hawaii, Alaska, and Florida. We thought we'd do this "someday" when we retired.  But who knows what the future holds? So we're doing it now. It's America or bust!  Of course, we knew our friends and family would demand postcards, so we decided to send them on the Net. That's when we realized, "Why not send them to anyone who's interested? Teachers, students, students of life, armchair travelers, serious travelers, or history buffs . . . anyone at all." So if you want a quick study of America, the postcards do the trick. But if you want more than what the postcards provide, just click on "Fun Facts," or "Map," or "Stamps," . . . "Fun Facts" details the state stats . . . the state motto, state nickname, when the territory became a state, what the state is known for, who the governor is. . .things like that. But the real fun part is the "Historical Note" section containing a brief paragraph on some little-known historical fact about the host state. Take New Hampshire, for example. I lived in New Hampshire 10 years and never knew that New Hampshire declared independence from England six months before the rest of the country. What Bravery! Standing alone against Mother England. You can see now why the state motto is "Live free or die." And did you know about the first woman mayor from Kansas? Mrs. Medora Slater was elected in 1887 . . . 33 years before women even got the right to vote. As we go along on our trip, the Fun Facts section will also include "Artifacts" found along the way. When we see anything interesting or unique to the area, like indigenous sea shells, flora or fauna, or crafts, we'll scan the image -- even if it's 3D -- and include it in the "Fun Facts" section of our web page.  "Map" shows a map of the state we are currently visiting, with an emblazoned outline of the state shape, to get a sense of each state's interesting, jigsaw puzzle-like shape. "Stamps" shows an enlargement of the "e-mail stamp" and a brief description. In addition to state bird, flag, and flower, it will include famous people from that state, whether a President, a poet, a writer or a rogue. These could be fun to assign book reports later on. We began our trip at dawn on Columbus Day (10/13/97) atop Cadillac Mountain in Maine, the north easternmost part of our country, and the first place the sun shines on America. Our last day ends at sunset at Lands End in Hawaii, the south westernmost part of America. We would love for you to be there with us. To register, go to http://www.postcardsfromcom and hit the Free Postcard button. See you online! --Priscilla Sarsfield P.S. I almost forgot . . . I wrote to all the Governors and asked for a personal recommendation of what to see if I only had a week in their state. Their responses will also be posted.

Age of Participants:
5 - 11
12 - 14
15 - 17
18 years +, Post-Secondary

Issue Areas:
History
Social Studies