LIVE Report! Grand Opening
February 24, 2010
New Exhibit - ‘Live Report!’
sponsored by Buckeye Companies
Opens at Imagination Station
TOLEDO, OH (February 24, 2010) – Buckeye CableSystem will give area youngsters and others the chance to be television sports announcers when it officially opens its newest permanent exhibit, LIVE Report! inside Imagination Station on Feb. 24.
LIVE Report! features a mock BCSN TV news studio. BCSN is Buckeye CableSystem’s exclusive 24-hour sports network focused on local sports and athletes from junior high school up through college, to Toledo’s own Walleye and Mud Hens. At the Imagination Station set, visitors can “be” the sports reporter reading a prepared script from a teleprompter, while actual footage from an area game plays behind him or her.
The anchor, pre-recorded, “throws” the show to the reporter, who makes the on-site comments just as if it were a live broadcast. The entire production is recorded and the reporter and his or her family and friends can watch it tape-delayed on a TV set outside the exhibit. Plans are eventually to provide DVDs of the performance.
The set contains permanent seats resembling a grandstand where family members and friends can watch the reporter’s performance.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of this vital downtown attraction, and excited about the experience it offers the community,” said W.H. “Chip” Carstensen, Buckeye President and General Manager.
Following through on a gracious promise made by Buckeye CableSystem to the science center during its victorious levy attempt in November 2008, LIVE Report! is a visitor experience in which kids of all ages can participate. “It is because of partnerships like these that we are able to continue bringing imaginative and creative new exhibits to the science center.” said Lori Hauser, Executive Director of Imagination Station.
Buckeye’s sponsorship also includes the Interactive Distance Learning facilities Imagination Station uses to deliver classroom instruction to schools within the Toledo area or around the world. This portion of the sponsorship, including the transport of the classroom material, is provided by Buckeye TeleSystem, a sister company of Buckeye CableSystem.
Interactive Distance Learning is an educational outreach program designed to give students all over the world the opportunity to explore scientific concepts, experience current technology and view exciting demonstrations, free from the limits of geography. IDL programs being delivered can be watched from inside LIVE Report! through a glass wall which separates the two. During the press conference and IDL program will be taking place. We will be connecting with a 2nd grade classroom at Chesnee Elementary School in South Carolina, between 11:00am – 12:00pm, doing a variety of science experiments.
“Distance Learning is a “green” way to bring new experiences into the classroom. Buckeye is excited to partner with Imagination Station on this enhancement to our community,” said Joe Jensen, President of Buckeye TeleSystem.
Both Buckeye CableSystem and Buckeye TeleSystem are wholly owned subsidiaries of Block Communications, Inc., which also owns The Blade, the daily newspaper in Toledo.
Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications, and David Waterman, chairman of the board for Imagination Station, will ceremoniously cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Buckeye exhibit at 11 a.m. Feb. 24, followed by demonstrations of the technology and equipment.
The Imagination Station, located on the downtown Toledo riverfront, is a science center dedicated to delivering science and technology based programming to youth and their families throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
WHAT: New Exhibit – LIVE Report! Ribbon Cutting
WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
11:00am
WHERE: Imagination Station
One Discovery Way
Toledo, Ohio 43604
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