Patriots Point's Elizabeth Brown uses the Education Center's new videoconferencing ability and HD cameras to interview Veteran Volunteer Tom Blakey LIVE at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Patriots Point Foundation, Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum’s new Education Center aboard the USS Yorktown offers students, teachers and visitors the enhanced opportunity to connect with others on a global level and experience history and science like never before.

The Education Center is now outfitted with "state-of-the-art" technology designed to connect users with people all over the world and engage them with the latest interactive tools. Students will utilize new SMART Boards, videoconferencing and High Definition Cameras that are strategically located throughout the ship.

"For many people, Patriots Point is a place to connect to the past and the sacrifices being made today," said Jack Hoey, president of the Patriots Point Foundation. "The new capabilities of our Education Center allow connection on a more progressive level. With this technology, students could engage in a real-time conversation with a deployed soldier or talk to a decorated war veteran living across the country; few experiences are more real than that!"

High Definition Cameras and videoconferencing capabilities will enable interaction between people in the classrooms and others anywhere else the technology is available. The new facility also hosts two "breakout" classrooms dedicated to different areas of interest. The marine biology lab is equipped with touch-tanks, aquariums and microscopes that allow students the chance to examine animals they collect from Charleston Harbor. The interactive teaching classroom is where students receive hands-on history and science instruction complete with SMART Board technology allowing for a more interactive experience.

"The larger space and new equipment will really make a difference in terms of the programs we offer and the number of students we can reach," said Ned Forney, Patriots Point education director. "More than 50,000 students, teachers and parents participate in our education programs annually and these enhancements will enable us to reach so many more."

Eventually, educators will be able to access the ship’s cameras remotely via a web browser which will allow staff aboard the ship the opportunity to continue the lesson. In addition to HD cameras in both classrooms, a third will be situated on the Bridge of the Yorktown, which will provide a 360 degree, birds-eye view of the Charleston Harbor and its surrounding areas, including Fort Sumter, the place on which the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

The interactive classroom was made possible by a generous endowment from the Post & Courier, donations collected by the Patriots Point Foundation and the hard work of Patriots Point’s staff.