We’re at it again! Beginning June 1st, ProjectExplorer.org will begin production on its fourth student-focused educational series focusing on Mexico.

From grasshopper harvesting and innovative cuisine in Oaxaca, to the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, and from the mangroves of Celestun wildlife refuge, to Xochimilco (the Venice of Mexico), the series will celebrate many aspects of Mexican life and culture.

Production is planned for Mexico City, Oaxaca, and the Yucatán Peninsula where we will capture footage for 50 to 60 video segments, several hundred images, and create dozens of multi-subject lesson plans.

Piedra del Sol at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

So, why Mexico? Reason #1: Spanish is the world’s third most spoken language. An introduction to the language and its native speakers is both culturally and economically significant.

Reason #2: Mexico’s indigenous cultures provide the perfect platform from which to explore the heritage of more than 39 million Hispanics currently living in the US.

Reason #3:This program aims to create a forum for young people to better educate themselves on the country and its people - one that extends beyond the heightened media coverage.

Mexico series director, Jenny M Buccos, recently spent 10-days scouting the best spots to share with our young audience, and captured a few sneak-peak videos like the one above along the way. The project crew is already elbow-deep in research spanning Pre-Columbian times to the modern-day, and are working on some pre-production interviews in NYC to round out the series.

Want to be part of our series? We are looking to interview people age 12-30 on their views of Mexico, immigration, and the border fence. If you are in the NYC-area and interested in being our video series, please email us.

The Mexico program is made possible by the Mexico Tourism Board, AeroMexico, and a grant from Chartis Insurance. The series will be classroom-ready in October 2010.

You spoke; we listened! Based on your comments and feedback, we’ve made some changes to our website. The most noticeable change is our re-designed homepage, which provides a snapshot of news and events, and allows users to quickly navigate to our informational pages.

We’ve also added a Search By Subject feature which allows educators to quickly assess what multimedia resources and materials are available for any topic or class.

Your feedback and suggestions help us tailor our tools and resources to better suit our audience, and would love your suggestions on future ProjectExplorer.org series. Have an idea for a project? Tell us via our 30-second survey.

It’s Springtime in NYC! Time to shed those winter layers and embrace the warmer weather by getting out-and-about. Yes, it’s time to be social again! On March 24th, Royalton Lounge, at the trendy midtown Royalton Hotel, was all a-flutter with our first event of 2010.

Thanks to Royalton Lounge for donating 50% of the bar’s proceeds! Funds raised were in support of our upcoming Mexico series.

We have a new homepage. We have a new project in development. And, we have a NEW CREW!

The Mexico series will be presented and produced by a crew of all-female filmmakers. In this edition, we are proud to introduce you to two of the newest explorers - our on-camera presenters...

Nichole Dossous (left) and Vijaya Selvaraju (right)

Nichole Dossous comes to us from Elmhurst, Queens with a Masters in Corporate Communications. In her career as a journalist, she has worked throughout New York City as both a field and a news desk reporter. View her video application.

Vijaya Selvaraju comes to us from Toronto, Canada. She already has a catalog of cultural videos under her belt with her web show, ‘Foodcapades’, where she explores food finds in Toronto and throughout her travels. Check out her take on global citizenship.

Stay tuned for more announcements on team Mexico to find out who will work behind-the-camera, and to meet the first-ever participant of our Educator Travel Program.

This April and May, I focus my efforts on all things Mexico! We’ve seen a strong showing of support from several companies who have donated much-needed new equipment and have provided funding for this project. In fact, we are almost 75% funded for the series.

However, individual support is critical to our success. Check out my quick video message to better understand how those small, personal donations can impact our work in a major way.

So, here is how that $2,200 goal breaks down:

• 100 Sony Mini-DV Tapes. At only $2.00 per tape, a small donation can go a long way.
 
• 24 Rechargeable AA Batteries w/Charger. We need at least 30 batteries to power our equipment each day. Cost: $79.
 
• LitePad Battery Pack. The "must-have" accessory for our portable lights! It requires 8 AA batteries and will keep things bright for approximately four hours. Cost: $36 ($18 each).
 
• Flip Video Underwater Camera Case. Protection up to 30 feet for our nifty, new Flips! Cost: $100 ($50 each).
 
• One Sony Cybershot Camera. Our old camera has sadly seen its final days. Cost of a new camera: $599
 
• Foreign Production Insurance. This is our ‘big ticket’ item. This requirement for filming also protects all of our wireless mics, cameras, and lights. That way we don’t have to raise money to replace them should something go wrong! Cost: $1,185.
 

Once again, I hope to appeal to your generous nature. Please consider using a small portion of your 2009 tax refund and make a donation. No amount is too small and, certainly, no amount is too large.

Happy Exploring!

Jenny (Mbali) Buccos
Executive Director & Founder

P.S. Like what you have seen and read? Then please forward this on to your friends, colleagues, and child’s teacher!