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THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY RECEIVES SAVE OUR HISTORY GRANT FROM THE HISTORY CHANNEL ®

Historical Society Partners with Milwaukee Public School District 's Arts@Large Program to Help Students Explore Milwaukee History

NEW YORK , January 25, 2005— The History Channel today announced that it will award The Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS) with an inaugural Save Our History Grant to partner with Milwaukee Public School District 's Arts@Large Program to help students explore Milwaukee history. MCHS is one of 29 history organizations across the country that will receive Save Our History community preservation grants to fund innovative, educational projects designed to bring communities together and engage children in the preservation of their local history. The History Channel created the Save Our History Grant Program as an extension of the Save Our History philanthropic initiative, demonstrating The History Channel commitment to inspiring, motivating and educating local communities on the importance of preserving the past.

With help from the $6,397 Save Our History Grant, the MCHS will work with approximately 250 students enrolled in the Arts@Large Program on a three-pronged project designed to raise awareness about Milwaukee 's historic sites, generate heritage tourism and provide access and incentive for other students to explore the history of the city. Focusing on Milwaukee 's architectural history, the MCHS will create a page on its website documenting the nearly 100 historic sites in the community that have been designated as Milwaukee County Landmarks over the last 25 years. The students will be encouraged to use the special page on the MCHS website to explore the history and architecture of Milwaukee County landmarks that are in danger of being lost or forgotten. In addition, the MCHS will organize field trips to the Jeremiah Curtin House and Trimborn Farm, two well-preserved, mid-19th century historic properties.

The students in the Arts@Large Program will then work together, with guidance from professional architects from the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, to create scale Lego models of the Milwaukee County landmarks they have visited or researched. Upon completion of the Lego models, MCHS will host a competition and will select the best model, while celebrating the efforts of all participating students.

“We were thrilled by the response to the Save Our History National Program,” said Dan Davids, President of The History Channel - USA . “The grants not only enable communities to maintain the fabric of their local history, but the collaboration between the schools and the historic organizations brings communities together and the interaction between generations will hopefully inspire young people to continue their historic preservation efforts. We are excited to be a part of that momentum and help give them the tools they need for their projects because unless history lives in the present, it has no future.”

The History Channel is also awarding Save Our History grants to historic organizations in Boston; Kansas City; Philadelphia; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, DC; Charlotte, NC; Tuskahoma, OK; Haines, Alaska; Titusville, NJ; Omaha, NE; Mauston, WI; Millville, NJ; Los Angeles; Cleveland, MS; Baltimore; Charlotte Harbor, FL; Lowell, MA; East Rochester, NY and Chepachet, RI. In total, The History Channel is awarding $250,000 in grant money. Organizations that applied but did not receive Save Our History grants are encouraged to participate in the Save Our History Program and will be eligible for The Save Our History National Awards Competition. Submissions can be made until April 8, 2005 by logging onto www.saveourhistory.com .

Save Our History , which received the Promotion Marketing Association's 2004 PRO Award for “Overall Best Idea or Concept,” was launched in 1998 and is The History Channel national and grassroots initiative that marshals the network's media, creative, and financial resources as well as its advertising, affiliate and promotional relationships to support community preservation nationwide and to enhance the teaching of local history in America's classrooms.

In 2004, The History Channel created a full educator's manual—now linked to all 50 states' educational standards—in addition to a one-class lesson plan that teachers can utilize to educate students on historic preservation. Approximately 55,000 students in the first year alone used the educators' manual in classrooms across the country. The Save Our History ampaign also includes original documentaries, national promotion on The History Channel, broadband activities in schools, and past work with The Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation and others.

About Save Our History

Save Our History , The History Channel strategic philanthropic initiative, is a national and grassroots campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education through awareness and regional participation.

Save Our History works to mobilize communities and schools across the country to preserve America 's national and local heritage, including landmarks, sites and artifacts. This ambitious endeavor traces its origins to Save Our History, the Emmy Award-winning initiative.

The program supplements the teaching of history in America 's classrooms, educates the public on the importance of historical preservation and motivates communities across the country to help save endangered local historic treasures. The Save Our History campaign includes original documentaries, special teachers' materials, national promotion on The History Channel, broadband activities in schools, and has worked with The Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National World War II Memorial, American Rivers and The White House 200 th Anniversary.

Additional information about the grassroots Save Our History program, including a comprehensive school manual containing suggested lesson plans for grades two through 12 and details about working with local preservation organizations can also be found at www.saveourhistory.com .