News
Release from
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District
Date:
Jan. 25, 2006
Contact: Jeff Buettner, Communications Officer, CNPPID
Phone: (308) 995-8601
or Carl Mesecher, NET Learning Services Senior Producer &
NETCHE Executive Director
Phone: (402) 472-9333, ext. 224
Interactive
Nebraska Studies Web Site Launches "Tri-County Project"
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The development of the “‘Tri-County’ Project” and
the role of water conservation, irrigation and hydroelectric
power in Nebraska’s history is the subject of a new
module created for the Web site NebraskaStudies.org (or
directly to Central's
page).
The Nebraska Studies Web site offers access to archival
photos, documents, letters, video segments, maps and more
-- capturing the life and history of Nebraska from pre-1500
to the present. Nebraska Studies is a partnership between
NET, the Nebraska State Historical Society and the State
Department of Education.
“‘Tri-County’ Project,” the newest
addition to the site, connects historical situations to current
issues in water use and conservation as they affect Nebraska
and the western United States. Materials include the story
of C.W. McConaughy and his long struggle to bring irrigation
to Nebraska farmers through a series of lakes and canals,
as well as the story of Kingsley Dam and irrigation throughout
the south central Nebraska area, beginning with the Dust
Bowl era of the 1930s. The module includes biographical and
historical information about numerous irrigation proponents
of the era, the physical and technical requirements of the
mammoth project and includes lesson plans in science as well
as social studies. The Central Nebraska Public Power and
Irrigation District and Water for the West provided support
for the development of the module.
The Nebraska Studies Project combines the videotape collections
of NET with the primary resources of the Nebraska State Historical
Society to capture life in Nebraska through images and the
written word. In partnership with the Nebraska Department
of Education, the agencies have worked with teachers from
across the state to identify key topics of interest to educators
and develop useful, innovative content for each time period
covered. Suggested activities and lesson plans encourage
an interdisciplinary approach to using the resources on the
Web site and are correlated with Nebraska curriculum standards.
The site includes functions and an array of resources that
will also interest Nebraska history buffs. For example, a
search tool enables users to enter the name of a town and
see photos from its early history.
NET continues to look for ideas and opportunities to produce
additional modules for the Web site. Six modules about “Notable
Nebraskans” were recently added with biographies and
information about Mildred Brown, founder of the “Omaha
Star” newspaper; Father Edward J. Flanagan, founder
of Boys Town; J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day; George
W. Norris, Congressman and Senator; Edwin Perkins, inventor
of Kool-Aid; and Susan La Flesche Picotte, Nebraska’s
first Native American woman medical doctor.
For more information on the Nebraska Studies Project, contact
Carl Mesecher by telephone at 402-472-9333, ext. 224; or
via e-mail (cmesecher@netNebraska.org).
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Release written by: Deb Miller, 402-472-9333, ext. 353;
or e-mail at debmiller@netNebraska.org |
