DISCOVERY EDUCATION AND VULCAN PRODUCTIONS SUPPORT SCIENCE TEACHING WITH NEW DIGITAL RESOURCES AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES LINKED TO DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S ‘RACING EXTINCTION’ DOCUMENTARY
A critically acclaimed new film by Academy Award winning director Louis Psiyohos (The Cove) will be used in science and geography lessons in classrooms across the UK from this month.
Racing Extinction – which receives its global TV premiere on The Discovery Channel today, 2 December – documents the plight of endangered species across the globe, and exposes the link between the human footprint and mass extinction.
With breath-taking cinematic photography, and never before seen images of the natural world, the film was screened to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and launched in London last week.
From today it will form part of Discovery Education’s leading digital content service to Secondary schools – bringing the subject of biodiversity to life for secondary school pupils across the country.
Lewis Bronze MBE, Founder and Director of Content at Discovery Education said:
“We are delighted to be able to provide exclusive teaching resources to incorporate this provocative and important film into secondary teaching. With its beautiful cinematography and gripping storylines, Racing Extinction will help students of all ages to confront and understand the environmental challenges that we face.”
Interactive lesson plans and video clips from Racing Extinction have been added to Discovery Education’s digital content service to schools – inspiring the teaching of biodiversity in geography and science subjects at KS3 and KS4.
Racing Extinction’s London launch, held at London Zoo on 25 November, was attended by a number of Discovery Education’s partner schools, including teachers from Hitchin Girls’ School, Hertfordshire. Speaking after the screening, Head of Biology Maria Dixon said:
“It was an honour to be there and to hear from the director. The film has an incredibly important message and the fact that Discovery Education are making available teaching resources incorporating Racing Extinction is particularly useful and inspiring for our Year 10 students who have just started their coursework on extinction. The film gives us a message of hope and ideas on what we can do to make a difference. We are promoting the “Start with one thing” message to all of our students.”
Racing Extinction will be aired in 220 countries today, with the UK screening taking place on The Discovery Channel at 9pm, Wednesday 2nd December.
Discovery Education empowers teachers and captivates pupils by providing high-quality, dynamic, digital content to primary and secondary schools across the UK. Through its award-winning digital content, interactive lessons, virtual experiences with some of Discovery’s most talented presenters and contributors, classroom contests and challenges, professional development and more — Discovery Education is leading the way in bringing learning to life. Part of Discovery Communications, the world’s leading non-fiction media company, Discovery Education is one of the fastest growing providers of educational services in the UK.
