Flight 93 National Memorial Launches Educational Programming with Baldwin-Whitehall Fourth Grade Students

Date: May 18, 2016
Contact: MaryEllen Snyder-National Park Service, 724-329-8131
Contact: Brooke Neel-Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, 814-893-6552

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. –Fourth-grade students from the Baldwin-Whitehall School District in Allegheny County will visit Flight 93National Memorial over four days in May to launch a new educational program geared to encourage awareness and visitation to the Memorial.

The special pilot program is part of the "Every Kid in a Park" initiative created by the National Park Foundation and coincides with the 100th anniversary celebration of the National Park Service.

The visits by Baldwin-Whitehall students are made by possible a generous donation from UPMC, which is covering transportation, meals, water bottles, and National Park Service interpretive staffing for all four hundred attendees.

"Fourth graders have been chosen as the focus of this pilot program so that we can start to educate the next generation of young Americans and introduce them to an important national memorial right here in Western Pennsylvania," said Henry Scully, Executive Director of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial. "Our goal is to make this program available to school districts throughout Allegheny County and the entire region."

The Baldwin-Whitehall visit on May 24 will be open to the media.

Students, teachers and chaperones will be greeted by National Park Service interpreters once they arrive at the memorial in Somerset County.They will learn the story of the heroes of Flight 93 as they experience the memorial walkway and visit the "Wall of Names," which marks the flight path leading to the crash site. They also will participate in programming in the Memorial's new Learning Center and Visitor Center.

"The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial want to ensure that the inspiring story of Flight 93 continues to resonate with our young people well into the future," Scully said."Introducing the memorial to these fourth grade students will be a great start."

ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Established in 2009, the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is the official charitable organization of Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA. As the official, non-profit partner of the Memorial, the Friends' aim is to inform, honor and pay tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 by supporting the memorial with volunteers and resources. The Friends' mission is to focus on awareness, education, volunteer support, preservation and stewardship. With the opening of the Visitor Center, Learning Center, and All&#é;e.

ABOUT FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
On September 24, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act created a new national park unit to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation's capital. The memorial is near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed with the loss of its 40 passengers and crew. For more information on Flight 93 National Memorial visit www.nps.gov/flni.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
More than 22,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 411 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history.