LOGO: America's Byways PHOTOS: two photos of the video/multimedia photo of a train IMAGE: small, round map of the area VALUING THE RESOURCE AND PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS ATTRACTING AND EDUCATING VISITORS TO TELL THE STORY OF THE SAN JUAN SKYWAY, ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS PARTNERED WITH STATE AGENCIES AND BYWAY SUPPORTERS TO PRODUCE AN AWARD-WINNING VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA EDUCATION PACKAGE. THE SUCCESS OF THE COLLABORATION HAS RESULTED IN SUBSEQUENT PROJECTS TO TELL THE TALE OF COLORADO’S BYWAYS. BYWAY LENGTH: 236 MILES PROJECT:America’s Byways Multimedia Series:San Juan Skyway BYWAY:San Juan Skyway STATE:Colorado STARTED:1996 COMPLETED:1998 TOTAL COST:$106,459 STATE HISTORICAL FUND/COLORADO HISTORICAL SOCIETY PLUS CDOT IN-KINDSUPPORT:$75,000 BONIFILS STANTON FOUNDATION,LAPLATA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS:$31,459 PRIMARY CONTACT: Linda Rea Rocky Mountain PBS 1089 Bannock St. Denver,CO 80204 Phone:303-892-6666 Fax:303-620-5600 Linda_Rea@krma.pbs.org THE SAN JUAN SKYWAY is a magnificent loop of Colorado State Highway located in Southwest Colorado.Honored by the United States Department of Transportation as one of only six All American Roads in the United States,the two hundred thirty-six mile drive is often described as “one of the most scenic drives in America.”In addition to its scenic beauty,the Skyway affords travelers a journey through history,encounters with the remnants of ancient cultures,and exposure to diverse environments.Passing through more than five million acres of national forests and parks,the route offers unsurpassed recreational choices to the thousands of visitors who travel the road each year. “Behind the grandeur ofthe Skyway are vivid stories of rugged individuals, of success and failure,of life and death.” PROJECT FEATURES: • Thirty-minute television program is the first in a series about byways • Educational components including a web site:http://www.rmpbs.org/byways a video,and printed teacher’s guide PHOTO: photo of San Juan material What Happened Intent to raise awareness of the byway and educate citizens and visitors alike on Colorado’s rich cultural history,local,state and federal representatives joined Rocky Mountain PBS to tell the story of the San Juan Skyway.Consisting of a documentary,web site and teacher’s guide,the project utilizes recent technologies to enable viewers,visitors,students and consumers to access information in variety of formats at multiple distribution points. San Juan Skyways is an Emmy Award-winning thirty-minute public television documentary that details the dramatic history of the byway by chronicling the stories of the rugged individualsthat lived and worked in the region.It tells of blasting the “million dollar highway,”of Ute struggles to retain their homelands,of betrayals between mine owners and miners,of boom and bust towns,and of one woman’s fight to preserve the ancient Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. “America’s Byways explores more than our natural landscapes; it journeys the depth of the American spirit through time and place.” A companion web site provides users and would-be travelers ready access to the history recounted in the documentary,as well as up-to-date information on weather and road conditions and links to local resources such as tourism offices and chambers of commerce.(http://www.rmpbs.org/byways). Completing the interpretive package is a teacher’s guide and timeline poster that correlate with state education standards.Developed with the aid of master teachers to advance the education of Colorado school children,these materials were designed as companion pieces to the video.The guide includes a series of classroom activities that enable teachers to question students on their knowledge of the topics discussed in the video as well as promote further study of significant events and resources.Specifically tailored for elementary and middle school children,the guide and timeline were developed to be incorporated into Colorado’s curriculum where local history is typically taught in the fourth and fifth grades. Careful development and distribution of the interpretive package has brought the history of the Skyway to life for thousands of residents and visitors.Broadcast statewide,the documentary has been viewed by over one hundred fifty thousand residents.Television transmissions of the documentary were broadcast to all of the state’s public schools for use in the classroom.The supplementary teacher’s guide was mailed to thousands ofsocial studies and geography coordinators and media centers at all of Colorado’s elementary schools,as well to many middle schools,libraries,museums and historical societies.Copies of the video are available for purchase at a number of locations throughout the state.The web site continues to be active and contains both general travel information as well as standards-based lesson plans for teachers and students. Project Benefits The success of the project in reaching a broad general audience and in connecting the byway to state educational standards has extended the reach and life of the project to a new generation of learners and visitors.The project has also resulted in a second byway project completed in 2001: America’s Byways: Los Caminos Antiguos.New and returning partners are currently producing a project that will feature three more byways in Colorado:Peak-to-Peak Highway,Santa Fe Trail and Frontier Pathways.It is anticipated that this series will play an important part in increasing awareness of Colorado’s rich cultural history as well as further promote local economic development and preservation goals. Rocky Mountain PBS and its partners are also cooperating to develop a national series of America’s Byways for the public television system.The proposed series will feature byways throughout the U.S. "I am so grateful for this series that has made Colorado History come alive for so many of my fourth grade students. They are entranced when watching the various segments. They marvel at the photography and the fact that they can still visit these historical sights today by car. Several parents have told me that I was instrumental in their vacation plans for the summer because their children wanted to see the places that the video had made so real to them." — SANDY STOKELY,ELLIS ELEMENTARY,DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PARTNERS San Juan Skyway Association Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund Bonfils-Stanton Foundation La Plata County Historical Society Colorado Scenic And Historic Byways Commission Great Divide Pictures Rocky Mountain PBS IMPORTANT PEOPLE Sally Pearce Linda Rea Chris Wheeler Partners This project was a collaborative effort driven by a common goal of promoting the byway while preserving its diverse resources. Public television joined with byway officials,historical societies, civic leaders,historians,educators,museums,federal and state agencies, foundations,and independent producers,writers and composers to develop the multimedia project to bring Colorado’s history to life.Project partners conducted background research,participated in interviews,lent location assistance and assisted in the compilation of archival materials.They also lent their support by providing input on the content drafts and video footage.The collaboration ensured a quality presentation and broad dissemination of information about the San Juan Skyway. Lessons Learned "With multi-media projects that involve many partners and contributors from across the state, a well-organized,well-communicated effort is essential for success. Articulating primary objectives at the outset is also important to keep the project on track as new participants join the effort." —LINDA REA,ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS DEFINE THE GOAL AND OPTIMIZE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. This project was designed to raise awareness of the byway, promote economic development,ignite interest in preserving Colorado’s natural and cultural heritage and advance citizen education about Colorado’s history and geography – common goals of many ofthe partners.Rocky Mountain PBS broadened the scope ofthe project by lending its statewide television broadcast capabilities,its educational outreach services and school network,and its Internet access capabilities,including web design and programming expertise.This partnership has resulted in a particularly broad dissemination of the project materials. CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE. Colorado has many new residents as well as tourists who know little of the state’s heritage.The objective of the project was to provide television viewers,residents and travelers an understanding of the rich cultural history behind the scenic beauty of the byway.This was approached in two ways – by providing travel information and history for the casual learner,as well as instructional content tied to educational standards that could be utilized in Colorado classrooms. THINK BIG. Develop materials as a comprehensive package,not as individual components.The project partners realized that in order to create momentum and ensure maximum impact,they needed to envision the project as one in a series of programs and educational materials.The success of the first two projects,San Juan Skyway and Los Caminos Antiguos,has helped secure funding for three new episodes,web sites and teacher’s guides.The programs and materials have been designed to be part of a national series to showcase America’s Byways. RESEARCH FUNDING OPTIONS. Explore multiple funding sources including public and private partners. In an effort to assess the collaborative efforts involved in producing the San Juan Skyway and Los Caminos Antiguos projects, an evaluation was conducted to identify areas of success and opportunities for improvement. The following tips were identified to help make future collaborations more effective: •Hold a kick off meeting to bring interested parties together to create a shared vision for the project,provide members of partnering organizations a chance to get to know one another and identify expectations.The meeting should be designed to clarify values and expectations and begin to understand individual styles to help reduce conflicts during the project. •Select a project director to define roles and responsibilities and manage the project.This should be done at the earliest appropriate opportunity. •Create a project information packet to provide a handy reference tool to members of the team and to share with new participants in the project to help get them up to speed quickly.The packet should include vision,mission,goals and objectives,a clear statement of purpose,and identification ofall participants (who they are and what they do). •Hold a meeting to bring all identified parties of the project team together to plan the project in more detail.Participants should include representatives from the collaborative partner organizations,as well as other individuals responsible for any aspect of the project. •Develop an action plan.The project director,together with the members of the project team,should create a list of all of the tasks associated with accomplishing the outcomes of the project.These tasks should then be entered into a timeline,preferably in an appropriate project management software.Each task should be assigned to some member of the team,or other individuals as appropriate. •Conduct key strategic meetings.Regular,ongoing project meetings should be scheduled throughout the project to provide opportunities for updates,problem solving,information sharing and brainstorming.