CHICAGO - September 6, 2008. As temperatures cool off in Illinois and the Monarch butterfly begins its lengthy migration south for the winter, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is encouraging K-12 students to join in the journey by participating in MonarchLIVE - - a web-based science project for students in the United States, Canada and Mexico to track the path of the Monarch butterfly - - the official insect of the State of Illinois.
"MonarchLIVE allows students to team up with their peers in the Land of Lincoln and as far away as Mexico to track the butterflies' migration as they head for warmer ground," Quinn said at a Saturday news conference at the Eden Nature Center Monarch Butterfly Garden. " The program not only teaches students about the Monarch butterfly, but equips them with the computer skills necessary to connect with their fellow classmates abroad."
By logging on to the MonarchLIVE site at http://monarch.pwnet.org/ individuals and classrooms can register to participate in live webcasts, satellite broadcasts, and teleconferencing with scientists, conservationists, teachers and students across the United States, Canada and Mexico as the Monarch butterflies land in their backyards.
MonarchLIVE will launch in Virginia on October 10 with a webcast and satellite broadcast and continue until May 28, 2009 when the butterflies return once again to the United States and Canada for the spring and summer seasons. The program will broadcast live from a butterfly garden in Illinois on May 19, as Chicago students teach other students across the country how to build a friendly home for the Monarchs with just a small plot of land.
As chairman of the Broadband Deployment Council, Quinn is actively working to bridge the digital divide in Illinois by improving access to high-speed Internet technology and promoting low-cost laptops in our local elementary schools.
Quinn was joined by Michael Howard, Executive Director of the Eden Place Nature Center; Mike Rizo, U.S. Forest Service Archaeologist; and Rafel Rosa, Director of Education for The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
For more information on MonarchLIVE, please visit: http://monarch.pwnet.org/ or http://www.standingupforillinois.org/monarch
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