Media Advisory
Alternative Fuel?
Solar-Powered Car Developed by Eighth Graders Will Go for a Spin
At Smithfield Foods/Iowa State University Event
What: Eighth grade students from Denison (Iowa) Middle School have developed a mini-car that is powered by solar energy. They’ll be demonstrating how the car works and talking about what they learned from the experience.
The 12 Denison students are participating in Smithfield Foods’ Learners to Leaders™ program and are also enrolled in Iowa State University’s (ISU) Science Bound program. As part of the Learners to Leaders and Science Bound programs, the students are taking classes and engaged in projects that will prepare them to pursue science/mathematics-related college degrees.
The Denison students are in Des Moines to attend a dinner honoring 17 students from Des Moines area high schools who have successfully completed the Science Bound program and earned four-year tuition scholarships to attend ISU.
When: Friday, April 25, 2008
Time: The solar-powered car will be demonstrated at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Embassy Suites Des Moines
101 E. Locust Street
Des Moines, IA
(515) 244-1700
Who: C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods, is the featured speaker at the dinner. Pope, Iowa State Science Bound officials and Denison school district students and instructors will be available for interviews.
Background: The Learners to Leaders program in Denison is a partnership that includes Farmland Foods Inc., a Smithfield Foods independent operating company; the Denison Community School District; and Iowa State University’s Science Bound program. Learners to Leaders is providing learning opportunities to students who may not otherwise have the chance to attend college due to academic, economic or social challenges. Participants include first-generation college-bound students, as well as low-income and minority students.
With funding from the nonprofit Smithfield-Luter Foundation, the Denison students will participate in the Science Bound program through their senior year of high school. The program’s focus is to equip students during their high school years to successfully earn science/mathematics-related college degrees.
You are invited to send a representative to cover this event, or arrange for follow-up interviews.
More info:
Chuck Sanger
Charleston|Orwig, Inc.
(262) 563-5100
(262) 352-2077 (mobile)
