www.nationalgeographic.com/kids - National Geographic to Launch Web Site for Kids This Week

Business Wire, Jan 30, 1997

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 1997--National Geographic Online, the award-winning Web site of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization, will launch this week a site for kids at www.nationalgeographic.com/kids.> "The feature will be as entertaining as it is educational," said Scott Crystal, vice president and advertising director of the Society. "It will benefit not only from the vast editorial resources of National Geographic Society but also from the Society's widely recognized and innovative educational programs.

"For advertisers, the site offers a variety of marketing opportunities," Mr. Crystal said. "Links to National Geographic's World magazine for children, the online site of the National Geography Bee, and to other features provide a powerful online platform for brand promotion." The Bee involves six million students a year and generates 92 million media impressions annually.

One- to six-month advertising schedules encompass general run-of-site banner rotation within both National Geographic Online and the kids' modules. An icon on the main menu page of National Geographic Online serves as a pointer to the kids' site. The site carries a guarantee of 400,000 impressions a month.

As thematic as it is interactive, the inaugural module is called "Pirates." With geography as the connective tissue, "Pirates" takes kids on an Indian Ocean quest as they follow a seaman turned pirate, a Caribbean voyage with a queen's spy, and a Barbary Coast adventure involving a kidnapped person of wealth.

The module will contain 30-to-35 screens and use Shockwave and Real Audio to enhance three mini-adventure learning games with prizes, according to Renee Clepper, online sales director.

Kids personalize the narratives by typing in their names and then use images and written clues to figure out the correct pirate, ship and loot for each adventure. The right answers produce a "treasure." Bonus questions, offered at the end of the adventures, lead to an additional prize.

Upcoming modules include "Tigers in Zoos" in February, the "JASON-- Journey From the Center of the Earth" global education project in April, and "Dolphin Intelligence" in June.

The site will provide a chat area where kids can talk to each other and to famous scientists, photographers, and travelers. National Geographic Online produces special lesson plans--titled "Learn More"-- connecting the online expeditions to the classroom.

National Geographic Online has been the recipient of numerous awards for content and design since it was launched in June '96. The site was just named one of five finalists for "Best World Wide Web Site" in the 12th Annual Codie Awards competition, the most prestigious event of its kind.

Other recent honors include "Best Web Site 1996," from American Photo Magazine; "Top Ten of the Year Award," World Wide Web Associates; and two High Five "Excellence in Design Awards" for modules called "River Wild" and "Fantastic Forest."

Apple Computer, Intel Corporation, Toyota, Ford Expedition and Mercury Sable, in addition to Parker Pen, American Plastics Council and Farmer's Insurance, are among charter advertisers on the site.

For the month ended Nov. 30, the most recent period for which audited traffic is available, National Geographic Online recorded 2.6 million page impressions, up 62 percent from the month before, Ms. Clepper said.

More information is available from Ms. Clepper at 202-775-6786 or rclepper@ngs.com.

The National Geographic Society is the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization, whose worldwide membership reaches every country and tops nine million. To achieve its mission, the Society chronicles a changing world through publications, television programs, classroom education initiatives and scientific research. National Geographic, its flagship magazine, is read by some 44 million people each month.

CONTACT: Dick Altman, 212-697-2620