The Organization of American Historians awarded Channel Islands National Park the prestigious 2019 Stanton-Horton Award for Excellence in National Park Service History at its annual conference this week in Philadelphia for the Island of the Blue Dolphins web resource.
Channel Islands National Park, in collaboration with the University of South Carolina and numerous other partners, developed the web resource as a feature called “Books to Parks,” that is designed to connect students to the real places, people, and historical events behind the literature they read.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by author Scott O’Dell is the sixth best-selling children’s paperback in the United States. It is widely taught in classrooms throughout the country and has been translated into more than 30 languages.
This story, which has fascinated people for over 150 years, is loosely based on the true story of the Lone Woman, a Native American who survived in isolation on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California from 1835 to 1853.
The web resource offers a wealth of information that includes chapter summaries; research on people, places, and cultures; a digital archive with primary and secondary sources; and interdisciplinary lesson plans.
“The website targets an important and insufficiently studied historical topic, and does so in the most engaging way imaginable. Anyone who visits it will come away with a broader reflection and appreciation of the past, questioning perceived ideas and common myths,” said Carole Goldberg, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita at University of California Los Angeles School of Law. “There are also interviews with a wide array of experts, from archaeologists to linguists to Native educators, and numerous maps, data visualizations, drawings, and timelines.”
To expand the web resource, Channel Islands National Park offers Island of the Blue Dolphins interactive distance learning programs that are broadcast live from the park’s studio to classrooms across the country. In these programs, fourth grade students learn about the most current archaeological discoveries of artifacts that were likely used by the Lone Woman.
The studio, a state-of-the-art videoconferencing system, was provided by a generous donation from Explore Annenberg LLC. The studio has significantly expanded the ability of the park to deliver Channel Islands Live educational programs.
