Annual Stair Climb Event on Sept. 10, 2022 at Discovery Park of America

Union City, Tenn. –Local Union City firefighters will once again be partnering with Discovery Park of America and the City of Union City to host the annual stair climb on Sat., Sept. 10, 2022, as a way to pay tribute to those who were lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The tower stair climb, held in conjunction with The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, is open to any rescue worker who wishes to participate in climbing the Discovery Park Tower staircase 10 times in full gear, the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center. The terrorist attacks killed 2,184 civilians, 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 10 EMS workers. Many others have died from medical complications in the years since.

The mission of the NFFF is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes, to provide resources to assist their families in rebuilding their lives and work within the Fire Service Community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries.

Those who have purchased a ticket to Discovery Park that day are welcome to watch and encourage the firefighters as they climb the stairs. Once the last firefighter has completed the climb, there will be a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives.

Climbers will be given an identification tag and photo of a first responder that lost their life on 9/11 as they climb the steps, and the stairwell will be filled with posters and words of encouragement from Union City and Obion County students.

The immediate families of participating firefighters will enjoy free admission to Discovery Park. Firefighters will receive a voucher for a meal at one of the museum and park’s restaurants.

The opening ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. and will feature the Presentation of the Colors, National Anthem and an opening prayer. The climb will begin at 10 a.m. Registration is now open. For more information, to register, to sponsor a rescue worker or team or to participate as a sponsor, visit the event’s landing page or contact Lt. Rick Stacks at rdstacks73@gmail.com or call (731) 885-2232.

Discovery Park Homeschool Days 2023

Beginning in January 2023, Homeschool Days will look different in several ways.

Three hours instead of two

•  1 p.m. to 4 p.m. instead of 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Classes will now begin promptly at 1 p.m. so please make plans to arrive no later than 12:45 p.m.
• A 15-minute break with snack time will be included. Please alert of us any allergies that your child has in advance.

Three different 45-minute classes and activities, instead of one

•  Five subject areas – History, Science, Music and Art, Wildlife, and Agriculture (will be offered on a regular rotation)
• All grades will now experience all subjects

Three grade groups instead of four:

• Grades 1-4    (Elementary)
• Grades 5-8    (Middle School)
• Grades 9-12  (High School)

While we have separated grades into three groups, you know your child best. It is always at the parent’s discretion to decide which grade group is most appropriate for their child, within reason. If you have questions, please ask!

Slight increase in cost

• $6 per student
• $15.95 per nonmember

Updated Version of Discovery Park Exhibit Popular with Young Children to Open Spring 2023

Discovery Park of America is working with Boss Display, an award-winning custom exhibits design firm, on a brand new, updated version of the water tables. The company designed and installed the original water tables when Discovery Park opened in 2013. Located next to the entrance of the Giant Man Slide, they provide one of the more memorable experiences at the museum, especially for younger children. The redesign is being funded by the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation, and the opening will be one of the many events scheduled during Discovery Park’s year-long 10^th birthday celebration.

The designers have opted to shift from two sections to one much larger experience that incorporates many new interactive activities and snakes throughout the entire space. New elements added include a fishing pond, fog and water mushrooms, interactive rain clouds, many new water toys and an activity that encourages children to direct fog using a series of pipes. Movable islands and aqueducts will lead to one activity that will be returning — an opened-top spinning vortex into which colorful balls can be dropped.

“However, even that experience will have a new twist,” noted Jennifer Wildes, Discovery Park’s senior director of collections and exhibits. “The designers have added a conveyor belt that can take the ball on a journey straight up and across the ceiling before it lands into the vortex.”

Boss Display designers and the exhibits team at Discovery Park spoke with educators, parents and children to determine what elements should be included to create a fun and STEAM-friendly experience for children and adults.

“Water tables provide a wonderful, open-ended opportunity for families to learn through the power of play, so it’s no surprise they’re now considered a staple in many museums around the world,” said Steve Farrow, Project manager at Boss Display. “We’re thrilled Discovery Park’s Water Table experience has been such a hit that we get to come back and create something brand new for their 10^th birthday.

The new water table will be open March 2023.

Senior Fellow for the First Amendment for the Freedom Forum, Gene Policinski, to Speak at Union City Rotary on Friday, Sept. 23

Gene Policinski is Senior Fellow for the First Amendment for the Freedom Forum, where he contributes to the weekly “First Five” commentary on First Amendment issues, responds to news media inquiries and participates in Freedom Forum programs.

One of the founding editors of USA Today, he also is a trustee of the First Amendment Museum being developed in Augusta, Me. A longtime proponent of diversity as an essential element of a free press, he is a member of the board of directors of Journal-isms, a regular report on diversity in the news media.

Policinski writes, lectures and is interviewed regularly on news media and First Amendment issues. He is co-author, with Professor emeritus Robert Bickel of Stetson University, of a multi-media academic course, The First Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement. He is a contributor to “Whistleblowers, Leaks and the First Amendment,” published by the American Bar Association, providing a chapter on First Amendment issues and a free press; and has been published in a number of law review journals.

He is a member of the First Amendment Museum instructor team for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) classes, through the University of Southern Maine, on “The Five Essential Freedoms: The First Amendment and Your Life.”
The host of multiple radio and online audio programs during his career, including the current news and interview blog Ciceronia (a local news and information site about the town of Cicero, Indiana), he also was producer and then narrator for the 20-year multimedia musical touring production, Freedom Sings, which toured from 1999 through 2019). Policinski was executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning public television program “Speaking Freely,” several news and sports talk programs on “USA Today Sky Radio;” and was host of “Newseum Radio,” which aired for four years on NPR Worldwide.

He joined the Freedom Forum in 1996 as executive assistant to the president, and later served as vice president and executive director of the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, at Vanderbilt University. He also served as president of the foundation’s Diversity Institute and retired in 2020 as president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute.

Policinski has directed several programs involving the federal judiciary and journalism. “Justice and Journalism” running since 1999, brings federal judges, journalists and others together to discuss issues of information access and accountability. Since 2019, he helps coordinate federal judges visits with college journalism students to discuss the role and operation of the various U.S. Courts. Both programs are done in partnership with the Judicial Branch Committee of the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
A former national trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, he is a member of multiple journalism associations, including the News Leaders Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. He holds a Certified Journalism Educator designation from the Journalism Education Association.

In non-journalism related public service, Policinski serves as President of the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad board of directors, a non-profit enterprise that operates the Nickel Plate Express, an education and historic preservation line, based in Noblesville, Indiana. A graduate of Ball State University, he is a member of the Dean’s Council for its College of Communications, Information and Media. He attended the Nashville School of Law. He was awarded membership in 2012 to Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, through its chapter at the University of North Georgia.

A 1980 recipient of the Indiana governors’ service award, Sagamore of the Wabash, he also has served as an adjunct faculty member at Winthrop University; on the education committee of  the U.S. Olympic Committee; as a trustee of the United States Sports Academy; and on the board of advisors for the Institute for Media, Culture, and Ethics at Bellarmine University. He was a trustee of the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, a member of the board of trustees of the Association of Opinion Journalists Foundation and was co-chair of the 2012 national convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Policinski’s daily journalism career included working as a reporter or editor at the Greenfield (Ind.) Daily reporter, the Marion (Ind). Chronicle-Tribune; at Gannett News Service bureaus in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. and at USA TODAY, where he held various news executive positions, including Washington Editor at its launch, and later Page One editor and Managing Editor/Sports. Most recently, he is a contributor to the Hamilton County (Ind.) Reporter.

While at the Freedom Forum, Policinski directed multiple programs and initiatives, including the Religious Freedom Center, the annual rededication of the Newseum’s Journalist Memorial program and the foundation’s annual National First Amendment Moot Court; and partnership programs with other foundations and organizations, including for more than 20 years the National Freedom of Information Day observance and the Freedom of Information Hall of Fame. He began writing the weekly Inside the First Amendment column in 2004, which later retitled First Five. He also hosted several online audio and video programs, including the Journalism/Works series running from 2013 to 2018.

Freedom Forum First Amendment Festival Q ’n’ A

What is the Freedom Forum all about? Our mission is to foster First Amendment freedoms for all. We’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Our goal is an America where everyone knows, understands and values their First Amendment freedoms.

Being nonpartisan is really important to us. Everyone in this country has First Amendment freedoms, no matter who they are or what they believe.

Why is the Freedom Forum coming to West Tennessee? We want to talk with Americans about what they know and think about the First Amendment. We do an annual survey called The First Amendment: Where America Stands, asking people across the country what they think about the First Amendment.

Overwhelmingly, Americans see the First Amendment – which protects our essential freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition – as vital to our democracy. But people also express worry about free speech on college campuses, for instance, and threats to religious freedom. And many people are afraid to speak freely today for fear of consequences, both online and in-person.

We want to hear more from the people here, and we also want to celebrate these incredible freedoms that Americans uniquely enjoy. We are the only nation to have protected these essential freedoms in our founding documents. The only one!

We’re also marking First Amendment Day on Sept. 25, an opportunity for all of us to celebrate our most fundamental freedoms.

The First Amendment is the way we talk to each other as a nation. Sometimes we agree and oftentimes, we don’t. But we speak out, we publish news and opinions, we assemble in groups to talk and maybe protest and we petition the government for change. And of course, freedom of religion – often called the First Freedom – protects our consciences, it protects our deepest beliefs from government interference.

But why Tennessee? Tennessee has an incredible First Amendment history. It was the Tennessee legislature that finally made women’s right to vote a nationwide law in 1920.

And civil rights protesters in the 1960s in Nashville and other cities sat at lunch counters and rode buses to protest segregation. Those are just two examples of the power of the First Amendment: People assembled and petitioned the government to change. It didn’t come nearly quickly enough, but the First Amendment creates the space for our country to adjust and revise our laws and our treatment of each other.

Today, schools and parents are wrestling with the issue of book selection: Some parents and politicians are seeking to remove or restrict books in school libraries they consider inappropriate; other librarians, educators and other parents are arguing for access to those books.

On a lighter note, Tennessee was the home of Elvis Presley, and his hip-shaking free expression rocked and shocked Americans in the 1950s. People often don’t think about the First Amendment protecting your right to free expression – it protects musicians and artists. It protects dance and the way you express yourself in clothing – and even your tattoos!

We also love that Discovery Park of America’s mission is to see beyond. We hope people will see beyond the political differences so evident today to celebrate the freedoms that nearly all Americans treasure. Because another of our survey findings was that 61% of Americans think the First Amendment can help bridge those divisions.

What do you know about Tennessee, anyway?

I’m glad you asked! We hosted four focus groups with community leaders and asked them about First Amendment issues they are interested in or concerned about.

What they told us was very much aligned with what we found in our national survey: People told us that speech and religion are their most essential First Amendment freedoms. But people are worried that religious freedom is threatened today, and they also feel that free speech is threatened. People feel the divisive political climate we’re living through has made it hard for people from opposing points of view to talk civilly. And people don’t trust the news media.

And we have deep Tennessee roots. John Seigenthaler, an award-winning journalist at The Tennessean and USA TODAY, a member of President John F. Kennedy’s Justice Department and a true champion of First Amendment freedoms, was the leading force for the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment work. His legacy can be seen in journalism programs across the state, from Middle Tennessee State University to Vanderbilt University. And we have offices and team members based on Vanderbilt’s campus in Nashville.

What will visitors do at the First Amendment Festival on Sept. 24?

The theme for the festival is fun, freedom and fellowship. We hope visitors will have a lot of fun celebrating the rights that make our country unique. We will have yard games like Jenga and cornhole, trivia games and a First Amendment scavenger hunt for the kids. We’ll have Fast Facts and Snacks, where people can get a cookie and a quick 5-minute download from our First Amendment educators about free speech, the forgotten First Amendment freedom and being media savvy. Folks can take a selfie with some famous First Amendment heroes in our Walk of Fame.

The big event of the day is a conversation with Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier, who will talk about his career as a journalist and how the First Amendment supports his work. After Bret, we will have a special musical performance by the Grammy-winning Gatlin Brothers. We are really excited!

The Friday before our festival, our Freedom Forum educators will engage with local students from fifth grade on up to college on some First Amendment basics. And they’ll create a chalkboard expression about the First Amendment that will be on display for visitors to the festival the next day.

What else is the Freedom Forum up to these days?

Lots! This fall, we’re visiting three universities – the University of Georgia, Morgan State University in Maryland and the University of South Dakota – to listen and learn from students and engage with them about exercising their First Amendment rights. We know from our survey that the majority of Americans think campuses should foster free exchange of ideas, yet we’re often divided about how to do that. Our religious freedom educators have developed new shareable content and videos about how recent Supreme Court rulings relate to how students and teachers can pray in public schools. And our journalism initiatives are working to improve the culture of newsrooms across the country, and in the process, improve the news. We share First Amendment stories and artifact in museums and public spaces across the country, including exhibits open right now at Reagan and Dulles airports in Washington, D.C. We also host an annual Free Expression Awards event to honor individuals who champion free expression and the First Amendment, and inspire others with their stories.

If people want to learn more about the Freedom Forum or get more involved in championing the First Amendment, what should they do?

Follow us on social media at @1stForAll on Twitter and @FirstAmendmentForAll on Facebook and Instagram.

Visit our new website, freedomforum.org.

And one final thought: If we want to enjoy First Amendment freedoms, we need to protect them for all of us – even those with whom we disagree. That’s what the Freedom Forum is all about: Fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.

Where can I get a ticket for the event at Discovery Park?

The event is FREE with registration at discoveryparkofamerica.flywheelstaging.com/1AFestival.

Discovery Park of America Announces Partnership with Ducks Unlimited and Addition of Permanent Exhibit on Waterfowl of the Mississippi Flyway

Union City, Tenn.—Discovery Park of America announced today an exhibit dedicated to telling the story of waterfowl hunting, conservation and the ecosystem of the Mississippi Flyway is currently being developed. “Duck, Duck, Goose: Waterfowl of the Mississippi Flyway” will open at the museum and heritage park in 2023. Ducks Unlimited, the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation, is the premier sponsor of the exhibit.

Other partners in the exhibit include Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Five Oaks Lodge, Final Flight Outfitters, Inc., First Choice Farm and Lawn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation. Additional partners will be announced soon.

“This new, permanent exhibit will use a combination of stories, three-dimensional objects, interactive elements and hands-on experiences,” said Scott Williams, Discovery Park’s president and CEO. “While some of our guests who encounter this exhibit will be well acquainted with waterfowl hunting and conservation, many others will be exposed to those topics for the first time.”

Louisville, KY-based Solid Light, a leader in the exhibit design and fabrication field, has been selected to head the project. Solid Light also worked with Discovery Park on the recently opened exhibit “AgriCulture: Innovating for Our Survival.”

Cynthia Torp, Solid Light’s owner and CEO, and her team have already been working alongside the Discovery Park exhibits professionals on the project for more than a year. They’ve also been working closely with experts at Ducks Unlimited throughout this research phase.

“With the museum’s location in the heart of the Mississippi Flyway and their unique mission of inspiring their visitors to explore the world around them, Discovery Park is in the perfect place to tell this story,” Torp said. “And I can’t imagine a better partner for this exhibit than Ducks Unlimited.”

Ducks Unlimited was founded in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. A small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited.

“As the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization, our impact comes through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities like Discovery Park,” said George Dunklin, Ducks Unlimited past president and current board member. “We’re thrilled to be able to apply our expertise on wetlands conservation to help tell these stories to the millions of Discovery Park visitors who will experience the exhibit in coming years.”

Another partner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is partnering with the museum to host the upcoming 2023 ​Tennessee Junior Duck Stamp Award Ceremony in April. The Junior Duck Stamp program is a dynamic art- and science-based curriculum that teaches wetland and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. The program encourages students to learn about waterfowl and their habitats and express what they have learned through an art contest. A variety of programs are being planned, such as Junior Duck Stamp Camp on Discovery Park’s STEAM Saturday, which can be enjoyed by anyone in grades K-12 interested in participating in the contest.

Although research and development for the exhibit is still underway, the initial direction has been determined by focus groups with content experts including waterfowl hunters, educators in the fields of conservation and wildlife and published reports and papers on the topic.

Those interested in partnering with Discovery Park on this exhibit should contact Mary Nita Bondurant at 731-885-5455 or mbondurant@discoveryparkofamerica.flywheelstaging.com.

Pictured l to r: Steven King, DU, deputy general counsel; David Marrone, DU, general counsel and assistant secretary; Scott Williams, Discovery Park, president and CEO; George Dunklin, DU past president and current board member; Jennifer Wildes, Discovery Park, senior director of collections and exhibits; Corey Dunn, DU, director of development; Sage Stockton, DU, director of development; and Mary Nita Bondurant, Discovery Park, director of development.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier will speak about his career and the First Amendment, and country music legends The Gatlin Brothers will perform.

Union City, Tenn. – On Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation that works to foster First Amendment freedoms for all, will host its inaugural First Amendment Festival at Discovery Park of America. Visitors to the park will discover fun, freedom and fellowship, and explore the rights that Americans treasure. The festival will include a variety of family-friendly, First Amendment-themed games, trivia, crafts and conversations. Admission to the park on the day of the festival is FREE with registration.

“The purpose of the festival is to engage Americans around their First Amendment freedoms and to help them better know, value, understand and defend those rights,” said Jan Neuharth, chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum. “Our annual survey of Americans’ understanding of the First Amendment has consistently shown that we value the First Amendment, but that few Americans know what those rights are. That’s a problem we’re uniquely positioned to address in a fun, compelling and empowering way.”

During the festival, Fox News anchor Bret Baier will participate in a one-on-one conversation about the First Amendment and his career as an award-winning journalist covering politics, war zones and the White House. Following the conversation, Larry, Steve and Rudy Gatlin, the three brothers who make up the country music band The Gatlin Brothers, will perform some of their biggest hits.

“With our mission to inspire children and adults to see beyond and an entire section of our heritage park dedicated to our American freedoms, Discovery Park is the perfect location for the Freedom Forum to hold its inaugural First Amendment Festival,” said Scott Williams, president and CEO of Discovery Park. “I know visitors from throughout the region will take advantage of this one-of-a-kind event.”

During the First Amendment Festival, visitors can:

• Set out on a scavenger hunt to discover the five freedoms the First Amendment protects for you! Visit spots in Discovery Park to solve clues and uncover our rights in action. Get a reward for completion plus entry into a drawing for more chances to win prizes.
• Reflect and share moments when our First Amendment freedoms have come alive for you. Together, our stories will show that we have more in common than what divides us – and that these five freedoms can bring people together.
• Check out the stories of the First Amendment! Learn about everyday heroes who used their freedoms and see how the First Amendment shows up in our lives today.
• Join us on the grounds for fun yard games. Learn about the First Amendment while you play with friends and family for the chance to win prizes.
• Test and grow your knowledge with a lively First Amendment themed-trivia contest with prizes for winners. You can join the game or enjoy the fun as a spectator!
• Snap selfies with figures past and present who exercised and defended our freedoms on the First Amendment walk of fame.
• Grab a snack and delve into First Amendment questions. Power up your knowledge of the issues you care about with answers from experts.
• Exercise your right to creative expression! Decorate your own artwork to add to an installation at Discovery Park – and see how the First Amendment can bring us together, protecting our expression and building community.
• Enjoy Discovery Park’s annual Southern Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival with artisans throughout the museum and park.

On Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, area students will learn the basics of the First Amendment and dive into case studies exploring the five freedoms before having the chance to creatively express themselves on what they learned. What are these rights, how can students use their freedoms and why are they important to society as well as individuals? The students’ creations during the program will be displayed at Discovery Park for visitors to see as a temporary installation at the First Amendment Festival on Saturday.

About the Freedom Forum

The Freedom Forum’s mission is to foster First Amendment freedoms for all. It works to raise awareness of First Amendment freedoms through education, advocacy and action, sharing the stories of Americans who have exercised their rights to ignite change. Established July 4, 1991, by founder Al Neuharth, the Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan 501 (c)(3) foundation that advances First Amendment freedoms through initiatives that include Today’s Front Pages, the Free Expression Awards, the Power Shift Project, the annual Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, the Chips Quinn Scholars and the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media. In addition to its Washington, D.C. headquarters, it has locations at the Al Neuharth Media Center at the University of South Dakota; the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi; and the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University.

About Discovery Park of America

The mission of Discovery Park of America, a premier world-class museum and heritage park located in Union City, Tenn., is to inspire children and adults to see beyond. Included is a 100,000-square-foot museum featuring nine interactive exhibit galleries, with additional space for temporary exhibits from around the world and a 50-acre heritage park. Discovery Park of America is a 501 (c)(3) public charity funded by generous individuals, corporations and foundations including its principal funder, the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation. For more information, visit DiscoveryParkofAmerica.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Larry, Steve & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers

The close family harmonies of Larry, Steve & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers have given the trio a signature sound that led to country classics like “All the Gold in California” and “Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You).” The brothers won a GRAMMY® for their 1976 breakthrough hit, “Broken Lady,” and reached #1 with several other songs soon thereafter. Along with five career nominations for the ACM Vocal Group, the Gatlin Brothers picked up three 1979 trophies: Single of the Year (“All the Gold in California”), Album of the Year (Straight Ahead) and Male Vocalist of the Year for Larry Gatlin. The brothers were also nominated for multiple CMA Awards including Vocal Group of the Year, Single of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Larry Gatlin has written songs recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Dottie West, Roy Orbison, Barry Gibb and countless gospel artists including the Gaither Vocal Band, the Booth Brothers, the Isaacs and many more. Larry was formally inducted into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the fall of 2019. For more information on the Gatlin Brothers, visit gatlinbrothers.com or follow them on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram