Educational Film Series Takes Advantage Of Local Landmarks

By Tanjua Damon

The Special Collections Room at the Booth Library and the historical Matthew Curtiss House basked briefly in the bright light of fame this month and last, becoming a part of an educational series about the United States government.

Stone House Production from Norwalk set up lights, black tarps, microphones, and cameras in the Special Collections Room last week when the film company spent November 1 and 2 at the library filming parts of the series. The crew also spent time at the historical Matthew Curtiss House earlier in October.

The 17-part series is geared for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and is designed to educate students about all aspects of the government. Schlessinger Media is a division of the Library Video Company that distributes the series to schools and libraries around the country.

The two sites are being used for the connective material throughout some of the series, Stone House Producer Craig Roger of Sandy Hook said. By the time editing is complete, the Special Collections Room and the Matthew Curtiss House probably will not appear very often throughout the series.

Mr Rogers thought of the library when he was looking for a place to do some additional filming that would fit with the content of the series.

“It looks great. We wanted some place that had a classic look to it,” Mr Rogers said. “You want something that suggests the knowledge, background, and history.”

The series has an actress, Ali Freda, who reads the script of the series as well as interviews with prominent people who have affected the United States government. The film crew was in Washington, D.C., when terrorists attacked the Pentagon. The group was filming at the Jefferson Memorial at the time. Since then some of the script has had to be edited to accommodate, for example, the addition of another cabinet member for Home Defense, bringing the total from 14 to 15.

“It’s been great,” Ms Freda said. “It was a little scary in DC when the Pentagon was hit. But it’s been fun.”

Each video will be about 22 minutes long and will reflect different aspects of the government. Students in kindergarten through fourth grade will be able to view video series entitled “American Government for Children” about the History of the American Government; History of Presidents; American Citizenship; Federal, State, Local Government; The Three Branches of Government, and What is Government.

Fifth through 12th graders will be able to watch the series, “United States Government,” which will address The History of the United States Government; The Declaration of Independence; The United States Constitution and The Bill of Rights; Comparative Government; The Executive Branch; The Legislative Branch; The Judicial Branch; The United States Federal System; Rights & Responsibilities of United States Citizenship; The Process of the United States Government; and United States Foreign Policy.

The series will be marketed in the spring to schools and libraries across the country.