June 17, 2009
Power of One show at the Royal Ontario Museum features immersive multimedia and up-close experiences with live animal ambassadors
Toronto, Ontario – May 13, 2009 – On May 16 Earth Rangers, a non-profit organization that helps kids improve the health of the planet, will launch its Power of One show at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to convey an important message about the responsibility each of us has to protect nature.
Featured in the permanent Earth Rangers Studio within the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity, each Power of One show, presented by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, introduces the audience to some of Earth Rangers’ most dynamic live animal ambassadors.
People will have the unique opportunity to experience the natural behaviours of these amazing animals, including an African serval cat jumping eight feet in the air, a snowy owl flying overhead, a Madagascan lemur leaping six feet across and an American kestrel hovering in mid-flight.
“When people see our animal ambassadors in person and learn how their habitats are under threat, they will be compelled to take the simple conservation actions we recommend during the show and on our Web sites that can make a world of difference for animals and people too,” says Peter Kendall, executive director at Earth Rangers.
“For nearly 20 years, our foundation has been supporting a wide range of environment and wildlife initiatives, including education projects for children,” says Mary Desjardins, executive director, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. “Earth Rangers’ Power of One show at the new Schad gallery will encourage children to be friends to the environment and show them they can help wildlife thrive right in their own backyard.”
With surround sound, high definition video and up-close experiences with live animal ambassadors, the show informs audience members about the challenges facing these animals, and helps them make a connection between the negative impact people have on the environment and the importance of making responsible choices to conserve nature.
To solidify that connection, kids in a recorded video use a balloon metaphor to represent the amount of greenhouse gas each of us produces on a daily basis, which happens to be approximately 300 balloons or 15 kilograms. In order to get rid of some of the balloons piling up in the video, the kids think of ways they can modify their daily behaviours to have a positive impact on the environment.
“The kids in the video clearly demonstrate how simple conservation efforts can lead to massive change if everyone does their part,” added Kendall.
At the end of every show, the audience is directed to EarthRangers.com, the organization’s newly redesigned online community for kids passionate about the environment. Eco-feats, things kids can do on a daily basis to help improve the health of the planet, are organized on the site into three main areas of children’s lives: at home, at school and in the community.
Kids can show off their eco-feats, and share their own ‘green’ tips, artwork and stories using the message boards, which they can keep track of on their profile pages. The online community empowers children and families to adopt a more sustainable way of life by making environmental stewardship easy and fun.
Power of One shows are scheduled to run regularly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends. With the addition of this new show at the ROM, Earth Rangers is expecting to reach 350,000 kids and families in 2009.
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that empowers kids to improve the health of the planet. Building on kids’ natural connection to wildlife, its live shows and children’s Web site EarthRangers.com motivate hundreds of thousands of kids each year to make realistic lifestyle changes. Earth Rangers lives its values; its building has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold designation from the Canada Green Building Council, and uses 79 per cent less energy than a typical building its size. Visit EarthRangers.org for more information.
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To view original press release, click here.
MEDIA INQUIRIES TO:
Christine Maloney
communications manager
905.417.3447 ext. 2291
cmaloney@earthrangers.com
Tags: earth Rangers, Green Education, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Schad Gallery of Biodiversity
