AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and PBS Kids Interactive Launch Two New WayBack Web Sites

History is a blast on Wayback, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE's award-winning U.S. history Web site for kids located at http://pbskids.org/wayback/

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and PBS Kids Interactive announce two brand-new WayBack Web sites on pbskids.org! 

Explore family history in FAMILY TIES, or examine THE FUTURE from the perspective of the 1950s and today.

FAMILY TIES 
pbskids.org/wayback/family/index.html
More than any other nation, America is a place where time, circumstances and huge distances have separated close family members for long periods of time. 

FAMILY TIES explores the role of modern communication, family reunions, and genealogy in America. 

What you can do online: 

• Get advice on family reunions from a couple of pros -- 17-year-old Keaira and 11-year-old Brandon, cousins who trace their family back to the 1600s:  pbskids.org/wayback/family/reunions/index.html
• Play an interactive game to build your very own family tree: pbskids.org/wayback/family/tree/index.html
• Test your knowledge of communication through the ages: pbskids.org/wayback/family/quiz/index.html

What you can do online: 

• Fire up the Multi-Functional Plastics Production Lab to make and recycle plastic, learning about the different kinds of plastic all around us: pbskids.org/wayback/future/plastics/mfppl.html
• Make slime and silly putty with these easy recipes: pbskids.org/wayback/future/plastics/slime.html
• Peer into the mind of a plastics expert: pbskids.org/wayback/future/plastics/buzz.html
• Find out what kids in the 1950s predicted about the future, and make your own predictions about the years to come: pbskids.org/wayback/future/predictions/index.html
• Take an interactive quiz exploring career options. Keep an open mind -- your future career may not even exist yet! pbskids.org/wayback/future/racket/index.html

WAYBACK
Since its launch, WAYBACK has become a favorite history destination for students and young adults, with features on the gold rush, technology in 1900, summer vacation, the history of flying, and civil rights.  Named a top Web pick by USA Today, Yahooligans!, Surfing the Net With Kids, Netscape, and the Arizona Republic, WAYBACK appeals to pre-teens with an engaging mix of photos, interviews, maps, jokes, timelines, text, and contributions from kids. 

A Kansas nine-year-old called WAYBACK "The best history kid site I have ever been on!!!" A Pennsylvania seventh-grader wrote, "I'd highly recommend it. It gave me the information I needed, without the stuff I didn't!"

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE ONLINE
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Online serves an average of 4.6 million pages of history content to visitors every month. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE sites have been critically acclaimed by Yahoo!, Netscape, Yahooligans!, USA Today, TipWorld, The Scout Report, UK Plus Site of the Day, Surfng the Net with Kids, and Learning in Motion’s Top Ten List.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Online is produced by WGBH Interactive, Boston, which produces Web sites supporting WGBH national series such as NOVA, Antiques Roadshow and ARTHUR. The WGBH Educational Foundation is the single largest producer of primetime television programs and Web sites seen nationally on PBS and PBS.org.

PBS.ORG
PBS.org, PBS’s award-winning site on the World Wide Web, produces high-quality Web programming as it pioneers the convergence of television and the Internet. PBS.org features more than 150,000 pages of content as well as companion Web sites for more than 1,000 PBS programs and specials, and is the #1 “dot-org” Web site in the world. (Source: Nielsen NetRatings)

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, television’s most-watched history series, is a preeminent producer of historical documentaries, related web sites, and DVDs. The pioneer of quality historical programming for public television audiences, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has won every prestigious broadcast award and enjoys consistent widespread support from television critics and viewers alike. Major funding for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. National corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual and The Scotts Company. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.

For additional information please contact Leslie Sepuka, WGBH Boston, Tel: 617.300.5329; Fax: 617.300.1016; Email: leslie_sepuka(--at--)wgbh.org, or Daphne B. Noyes, WGBH Boston, Tel: 617.300.5344; Fax: 617.300.1016; Email: daphne_noyes(--at--)@wgbh.org