Thursday January 21, 1:13 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Unisys Helps Grow AAAS Public Science Day into a National Program Across the U.S.
BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 1999--Unisys Corporation Thursday noted that its sponsorship of Public Science Day (PSD) - celebrated nationwide beginning today -- has allowed the decade-old program to grow to a national level.
Unisys contribution has been driven by the company's strategic commitment to philanthropic activities that improve science and technology education for elementary and high school students worldwide.
Public Science Day is a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a nonprofit professional society of some 143,000 scientists and technologists worldwide dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological excellence.
PSD tries to raise awareness about the importance of science education and to heighten enthusiasm for science and technology learning and understanding. In past years, PSD was a one-day opening event for the annual meeting of the AAAS, where thousands of students visited science institutions in the host city.
They participated in hands-on science and technology activities planned by the institutions as a means to achieve the goals of PSD.
In 1997, AAAS began working with The Franklin Institute (TFI) in Philadelphia and Unisys to grow PSD into a school-year-long program involving classrooms throughout the world communicating through the Web. For example, with a new program structure in 1998, students from 22 schools across Philadelphia were linked, not only electronically, but also with a common theme for their inquiry-based projects.
Building upon this success, AAAS, TFI and Unisys further expanded the scope of the PSD program for the 1998-99 school year and this year's Public Science Day. The partners invited museums and schools across the U.S. to participate in the program and compete for project funding.
Major changes were made to the structure of the '99 program, specifically a greater emphasis on the integration of the Web component. Science museums partnered with local elementary, middle and high schools to work on hands-on science projects that they would publish on the Web.
Many projects involve using the Internet for research and creating Web sites. The result is thousands of students in 11 U.S. cities exploring a common theme, ''Our Changing Earth,'' through science projects that will culminate today.
''Unisys is extremely pleased to be associated with this program, part of our continuing investment in science and technology education initiatives that capitalize on advanced technology, said David Curry, vice president, Unisys Corporate Public Affairs. ''Using the Web allows us to make Public Science Day an educational program available to science classrooms everywhere.''
Students will showcase their work locally at science institutions in cities across the nation today, which marks the opening of the annual meeting of the AAAS, in Anaheim, CA.
The classroom projects range from studying weather phenomena in Los Angeles; to using satellite imagery to investigate earth changes in Newport News, Virginia; to constructing working models of the Savannah River to gauge its impact on Augusta, Georgia.
Many of these projects are reported on the Public Science Day Web site (www.fi.edu/psd99) hosted by The Franklin Institute.
In Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute Science Museum will welcome students from the G.W. Childs, Decatur, Morrison and Patterson elementary schools. Along with displaying their projects in Franklin Hall, students will get to explore hands-on exhibits including walking through the chambers of the heart. The museum is located at 222 N. 20th St. in Philadelphia. Contact: Tony Sorrentino, 215-448-1176.
About Unisys
Unisys (NYSE:UIS - news) is more than 33,000 employees helping customers in 100 countries apply information technology to solve their business problems.
Unisys solutions are based on a broad portfolio of global information services including systems integration, outsourcing, ''repeatable'' application solutions, consulting, network integration, remote network management, and multivendor maintenance and support, coupled with enterprise-class servers and associated middleware, software and storage.
Repeatable solutions are focused on key vertical markets including financial services, transportation, telecommunications, government, publishing and other commercial markets. Headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in the Greater Philadelphia area, Unisys had 1998 annual revenue of $7.2 billion. Access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web - unisys.com - for further information.
Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. |
