Ten Muncie students ? five from Ball State ? will help commemorate the centennial of American flight Tuesday at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Sophomore Mike Fronckowiak, senior Matt Kiefer, senior Tim Richardson and graduate student Vinnie Manganello, all from the telecommunications department, as well as senior Nikki Dinovski from the Teachers College will produce the live broadcast, "The Wright Start: Celebrating 100 Years of Flight."
The broadcast, which will describe the Wright brothers' historic achievement, will air at 10 a.m. EST and 1 p.m. EST Tuesday on Ball State's Channel 49. The show will also air on WIPB-TV, Channel 2 at 1 p.m.
Manal Ansari, Kendra Carr, Andy Joe, Austin Quinn and Abe Underhill from Burris Laboratory School will participate in the broadcast.
During the shows, the Burris students will meet Wilbur, Orville and their sister Katharine in a dramatization depicting the Wright family. The show will also include activities focused on the music, art, clothing and writing that the Wright brothers inspired.
Almost 14 million students in 47 states, along with students from Puerto Rico and Belize, will be viewing the program. The Electronic Field Trip will allow students to call in and talk to curators live or send in questions via e-mail during the show.
"Students are doing this to get the idea that it's supposed to be their classroom," assistant Teachers College outreach director Ross Graham said. "We try to make those two shows be their classroom for the day," he said.
The original 1903 Wright Flyer will also be presented on the museum's floor. The exhibit, which is open until 2005, marks the first time viewers can see the artifact up close.
Students viewing the show from remote classrooms will be participating in different activities during the program, such as propelling replicas of the Wright "bat," the brothers' first toy helicopter.
Fronckowiak is one of the student multimedia producers for the show and will also be running the camera.
"It's a really good program for kids," Fronckowiak said. "I wish we had something like this when we were back in grade school."
The goal of the field trip is to interactively tell the story of the beginning of flight through the Wright brothers, Graham said.
"The Wright brothers were the first celebrities of the twentieth century," he said.
Graham said the Electronic Field Trip is successful because it uses both satellite and Webcasting. Classes involved in the trip will have access to the Web site, www.bsu.edu/eft, when viewing the program.
Since 1996, the Electronic Field Trip has reached millions of students throughout the nation. The program is a result of the Best Buy Children's Foundation, Apple Computers, the Ball State Teachers College and Teleplex, Burris Laboratory School, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Like Fronckowiak, Richardson helped to preproduce the broadcast and will also be running the camera.
"My favorite part of the trip is getting to go out and travel and see the nation's capital," Richardson said. "And to also do what I like to do, which is produce great television."
Mark Kornmann, Teachers College outreach director, said the program is beneficial to all students.
"It gives (Ball State students) the opportunity to experience this kind of work," Kornmann said. "We're not only teaching students about the Wright brothers but also giving Ball State students the opportunity to learn their craft."
Bill Bryant, director of Teleplex, said that the millions of people who are viewing the program will put more pressure on the students who created it.
"This is the best hands-on experience they're ever going to get," Bryant said.
Kornmann has already begun work on the next three years' Electronic Field Trip programs.
"We're all excited about celebrating the centennial and giving students a first-hand look at the people who have made flight as successful as it is," Kornmann said.
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