ETV & Colonial Life Arena Partner on 3rd Grade Essay Contest to See “Walking with Dinosaurs”

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ETV & Colonial Life Arena Partner on 3rd Grade Essay Contest to See "Walking with Dinosaurs"

The Oldest Educational Contest Ever - 65 Million Years in the Making

For Immediate Release
September 29, 2009

Columbia, SC... ETV and Colonial Life Arena are inviting third grade teachers around the state to have their students write an essay of 150 words or less on the following topic:

If you were able to spend a day walking among the dinosaurs, what would that day look like? What would you see and hear? Describe what things you might do.

First, second and third place winners will be selected, and given 50 free tickets for their entire class to attend the show on Sunday, October 11 at 1 p.m. The deadline to submit is October 5 by email or by mail to:

ETV Dinosaur Essay, 1101 George Rogers Blvd., Columbia, SC 29201 or by email to etvmail@scetv.org - subject line: "Dino Essay."

"It is rare that we have a show that is not only so thrilling to watch, but is also incredibly educational by nature. Because of that, we knew that we wanted to partner with ETV to help us come up with ways that we could really reach out to third graders across the state," said Abey Coker, Director of Marketing for Global Spectrum at Colonial Life Arena. "Of course, the essay contest fits right into their curriculum, and we are truly excited that classrooms now have the chance to see this spectacular and educational event."

"This essay contest is another example of how ETV is helping our students learn on a daily basis," said Debbie Hamlett, Director of Development for ETV. "Kids already love dinosaurs and we knew the chance to win tickets for their classmates would really motivate them. Plus, teachers can use ETV resources like StreamlineSC, which has over 200 educational videos about dinosaurs, to really make their lessons come alive."

In addition to the contest, ETV will also air a special behind-the-scenes program, "The Making of 'Walking with Dinosaurs'" on ETV-HD on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. and ETV's SCChannel Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. The hour-long show takes a look at the science and art of creating this prehistoric world and its 15 larger-than-life inhabitants.

"The opportunity to work with Colonial Life Arena on this show has been wonderful," said Hamlett. "'Walking with Dinosaurs' has very strong educational components that reach students in the classroom and also our television audience at home. It fit perfectly with our 50-year mission to promote life-long learning."

The show is recommended for ages from three to 93 and has been carefully written and produced for the entire family. Walking with Dinosaurs provides a fair amount of realism – so to simulate earthquakes, volcanoes and comets impacting the earth, along with the primal roars of the dinosaurs, the show's sound design is loud and life like.

Walking with Dinosaurs is a dazzling 10 million pound arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality set to captivate young and old alike. Attendees will marvel at the story of the dinosaurs' 200 million year domination of life on Earth. Watch them walk. Hear the roar. Be there as they fight for survival and supremacy. From the ripple of their skin to the glint in their eye, you will know the dinosaurs really have returned! Dinosaur fans of all ages can see the dinosaurs come alive at Colonial Life Arena from October 7-11.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.