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Mountain Lake PBS and the “Father of French America”
Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America

Media and education are changing landscapes, and I believe public media stations have a strong role to play. Every day, stations are developing new ways to deliver content and services that advance learning – on-air, online, at home and in the classroom. As the president of Mountain Lake PBS, I’m proud to bring these new technologies to our community in interesting ways. Last month, we were honored with a My Source Education Innovation Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for doing just that.

Mountain Lake received the award for the Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America Multimedia Project. This project, which combines a unique animated documentary about Samuel de Champlain with educational content that meets New York State and National Learning Standards, was an enormous undertaking for the station. A partner website, champlaininamerica.org, was created alongside the documentary, which includes lesson plans for educators, supportive web-based content and an interactive map of Champlain’s Journey, all designed to help students acquire critical 21st Century media literacy and technology skills. Mountain Lake PBS also sponsored a writing contest celebrating student authored newspaper articles about Champlain’s travels.

Samuel de Champlain is known as the “Father of French America,” the founder of Québec, a brave explorer, expert cartographer and a visionary who worked tirelessly to create a self-sustaining European settlement in North America. Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America tells the story of Champlain and the people who taught him how to explore and survive in the wilds of North America. Like the French explorer, Mountain Lake PBS is charting new territory by producing the first historically accurate, animated documentary on Samuel de Champlain to be broadcast in the United States and Canada.

We’ve connected with schools and community members in our region by hosting preview events in Plattsburgh, Albany, Montreal and Quebec City. The reception above the border has been extremely positive. Samuel de Champlain plays a substantial role in Canadian, and especially Quebec, history. To make this project more accessible to our Canadian viewers, the partner website, champlaininamerica.org, was recently translated into French. We are still working to find additional funding to translate the entire film into French as well.

I’m so proud that Mountain Lake PBS has completed such an ambitious undertaking. The combination of the animated documentary, comprehensive website and educational supplies has created a unique local resource. Dead Reckoning - Champlain in America is a learning experience that goes beyond entertainment.