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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Indiana Students Host Mock Tourism Convention

Fresh pineapple and tropical drinks help promote Hawaii tourism
NWI Times: Looking for the perfect vacation spot? Eighth-graders at Hanover Central Middle School have just the place for you.

Students in Kelly York's English classes hosted a mock U.S. Tourism Convention at the Cedar Lake school last week to share with teachers, classmates and visiting fifth-graders from Lincoln and Jane Ball elementary schools everything they had learned about the states. And they enticed their audience into visiting Sesame Place in Pennsylvania, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Oztoberfest in Kansas.

"Students were put in groups of 3 to 5 and each group 'drafted' a state to study for three weeks," explained York, as she handed out survey forms to convention visitors. Students were instructed to study the history, government, special features, tourist attractions and historical events about their state and put together an attractive display to lure tourists. "They were also told to dress professionally or in clothing that signifies their state," said York.

Wearing a white shirt and tie, Daniel Balich, said he "had a lot of fun" learning to pitch Kansas. "They have a lot of festivals," he said. Nick Zak, whose team studied Pennsylvania, said he was surprised to learn that the name of the state was misspelled on the Liberty Bell, a big tourist attraction in Philadelphia. "Pennsylvania also has Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' house and Edgar Allen Poe's house," added Zak.

Sam Glidewell, Andrew Gomez and Jimmy Lytle served salsa and chips at their Arizona booth, and had plenty of history and tourist attractions to pitch. Gomez said tourists shouldn't worry about the stiff immigration law passed and signed by the Arizona governor, since the courts have so far blocked its implementation.

Glidewell suggested visiting Grand Canyon National Park or one of many water parks in Arizona, adding that sports fans could catch a Diamondbacks baseball game or Suns basketball game, depending on the season.

"I wanted to offer a different way for the students to learn about the states, and many have responded very well," said York.

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