MLPBS

Contact: Carol Blakeslee-Collin, Executive Producer
Phone: 518-563-9770
E-mail: carol_blakeslee@mountainlake.pbs.org

Mountain Lake PBS will build on the rich colonial history of the Lake Champlain Valley region to develop an educational outreach campaign for the "The War That Made America"series.  Its partners include the Fort Ticonderoga Museum and the Teacher Education Center at Plattsburgh State University.

The station will produce two companion programs.  Its weekly news magazine, Mountain Lake Journal will feature a segment exploring the importance of the French and Indian War to the region and also tape local high school students from diverse backgrounds discussing how the historical influence of the War has impacted their lives and cultural values.

The second program, Roadside Adventures will feature interviews with a Canadian historian and the executive director of Fort Ticonderoga.  They will visit battle sites and discuss the effects of the War on the region.  Copies of the programs will be distributed to schools and streamed on project Web sites.

In partnership with The Ticonderoga Museum, the station will conduct a spring teacher training for American history instructors on how to engage students in the project.  Two teachers will receive training scholarships.  Student outreach activities include an essay contest critiquing the series or addressing an aspect of the French and Indian War.  Entries will be posted on the station’s Web site and the winner will be invited to read their essay at a public event.

To promote the series, Mountain Lake PBS will hold a public screening event and create a "The War That Made America" area on the station Web site.  It will also contain a link to the PBS project Web site as well as streaming video from local programming and photographs and archival film footage provided by the museum.