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NSF PR 01-44 (NSB 01-102)
Media contact:Dave Vannier(703) 292-8070[email protected]
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Science Board Honors the Bronx Zoo's Education Division for Public Service

The National Science Board (NSB), the 24-member policy body of the National Science Foundation and advisor to the President on national science policy is honoring the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo, Education Division with the 2001 NSB Public Service Award for organizations.

The society's education programs of the Bronx Zoo reach thousands of students and teachers every year nationwide. They serve as prototypes for many similar education programs at zoos around the world.

"The reach of the Bronx Zoo's education programs is so wide, and the impact is so dramatic, that we will see a whole new generation of young people appreciating the life sciences and the sensitivity of our environment," Eamon Kelly, NSB chairman, said. "It's hard to imagine any organization more deserving of this award."

The NSB award cited the Wildlife Conservation Society's education activities in fostering awareness of science and technology among broad segments of the general public, and for engaging scientists in public outreach and ecological literacy. The society's Bronx Zoo Education Division has been a leader in many of these activities since its creation in 1929. It is now the oldest such division of any zoological institution in the nation. It was the first to use its resources to develop comprehensive K-12 life science curricula and the first to design hands-on teaching environments, while offering major national workshops and instructional leadership seminars for educators.

In the mid-1980s, the society pioneered a classroom program for grades 6-12 that used a focus on wildlife to capture students' imagination and motivate them to pursue studies of the life sciences. The program--WIZE (Wildlife Inquiry through Zoo Education)--has been used in classrooms across the U.S. and in 13 other countries.

The Bronx Zoo subsequently developed three other life science curricula, which span kindergarten through the 12th grade and are used in every state in the nation. The zoo's Education Division has received 17 awards for its curricular programs from organizations such as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the National Science Teachers' Association, and the U.S. Department of Education. It was also the first zoological organization to compete successfully for a major NSF grant in curriculum development.

"We dedicate ourselves to being the most effective conservation organization, protecting and promoting a world rich in wildlife and wilderness," said Annette Berkovits, Senior Vice President of the WCS Education Division. "WCS manages more than 300 field projects in 53 countries in addition to the award winning environmental education programs for schools in the U.S. and abroad. Our wildlife parks and centers bring in over 4.5 million visitors each year, leaving them the important message to care about wildlife and wild lands and to participate in their conservation."

Berkovits will be accepting the NSB organizational Public Service Award at a ceremonial dinner on May 23 at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.

The NSB's annual Public Service Awards were established in 1996 to recognize one or more individuals and an organization for achievements in increasing the public's understanding of scientific discovery and innovation, as well as for inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

The organizational Public Service Award has been bestowed on the NOVA PBS series, "Bill Nye the Science Guy," also a PBS series, and Science Service, the organization that publishes Science News and sponsors other education activities and national awards. The Bronx Zoo's Education Division is the fourth recipient of the NSB honor.

The individual winner of the 2001 NSB Public Service Award is Dava Sobel, author of the current best seller, Galileo's Daughter.

For more information, see: http://www.wcs.org.

-NSB-

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