December 1 , 2004
New Science and Reading Curriculum Focusing on
Captive Swans Inspires Joint Educational Partnership
ORLANDO, Florida-A new science and reading curriculum focusing on swans has attracted the attention of 60 educators from Florida’s Treasure Coast. It has also inspired a unique joint partnership between an international swan research group, an Orlando timeshare resort and a Florida Living Science program dedicated to providing educators access to scientific field sites.
On Thursday, June 30, 2005, educators enrolled in Indian River Community College’s Living Science program will travel to Orange Lake Resort & Country Club for a special one-day workshop to learn about the new curriculum developed by research members from The Regal Swan, Inc.® Using information garnered during a four-year study of captive swans, the curriculum will be used to teach students (K-12 and Adults) reading, science and math.
The unique curriculum, dedicated to the late Dorothy Lee Wilson, wife of the late Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inn® and Orange Lake, will cover such topics as Titre testing, DNA Sequencing and Scanning Electron Microscopy during the day-long event. This is the first-ever joint partnership of the Living Science program in the Orlando area, giving Florida educators the opportunity to work with swans and learn about the innovative swan teaching materials and activities available for use in their classroom settings.
Encompassing more than 1,200 acres, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club is based in Orlando, Florida. Developed by Holiday Inn® founder Kemmons Wilson, the resort is the largest single-site timeshare resort in the world. Located four miles from Walt Disney World® theme parks, the resort is home to six Mute Swans and an array of wildlife indigenous to the state of Florida. For more information on Orange Lake, please go to: www.orangelake.com
The Living Science program is based at Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce, Florida. The program is sponsored by a U.S. Congressional grant and also partners with the following agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Laboratory, the Smithsonian Marine Station, Florida Oceanographic Society, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Park Service District 5 and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, to name a few. For more information please go to: www.Living-Science.org
The Regal Swan, Inc.® is an international swan research corporation based in Orlando, Florida. Working with Her Majesty’s Swan Warden in London, England and researchers throughout the world, the group is dedicated to the humane treatment and veterinary care of captive swans. Team members were the first to successfully pioneer the use of vaccines against the deadly botulism toxin and West Nile Virus in swans.
The research team includes: Geoffrey R. Gardner, D.V.M.; Lakeland Veterinary Hospital, Lakeland, Florida; Christopher W. Brown, D.V.M.; Central Florida relief veterinarian, Orlando, Florida; Fanchon F. Funk, Ed.D., professor emeritus, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; Sheila A. Bolin, M.S., swan keeper and state-licensed wildlife transporter, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando, Florida; Rebecca Webb Wilson, J.D., photographer and Lifetime Trustee Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee; and Shirley A. Bolin, A.G.S., photographer and staff writer, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando, Florida; Spence Wilson, and Charlie Huggins, logistics coordinators, Memphis, Tennessee.
Curriculum specialists include, Fanchon F. Funk, Ed.D., professor emeritus, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; Elsa C. Price, Ed.D., professor, Faulkner University, Montgomery, Alabama; Maryann J. Ehle, Ph.D., West Liberty State University, West Liberty, West Virginia; E. Joann Belk, Ph.D., Memphis, Tennessee; Leonel Mendoza, Ed.D, medical mycologist, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, and Sally Graziano, M.S., electron microscopist, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Florida. For more information about The Regal Swan® and its continuing effort to provide current veterinary care information for captive swans, please go to: www.theregalswan.com
Sponsors for The Regal Swan, Inc.® include: Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Pfizer Animal Health, Ft. Dodge Animal Health, The National High Magnetic Laboratory, Florida State University, The Orlando Science Center, Memphis Zoo, Antech Diagnostic Labs, Inc., Sharn Veterinary Care, Lakeland Veterinary Hospital, IQ Scientific Instruments, Kaz Incorporated, Lab Essentials, Inc., Vetcare, Ward’s Natural Science, theroyalwindsorwebsite.com, ThamesWeb, Windsor, England, Timex®, CAT® Footwear, Texsport®, Moose Creek® Inc., Lewis N. Clark, Princeton Tec®, Vicks Company, Cobra Electronics, Bushnell Sports Optics Worldwide, Blitz® USA, American Camper, Sports Authority, Hunt Manufacturing Company, Prestige Car Rental and Western Pest Services.