The Clean Air Primer CD-ROM and Clean Air Challenge Exhibits
©2004 Delphi International

Delphi develops resources for educational institutions, public agencies, and private companies to expand their outreach to specific audiences. Current educational resources include a series of products on the environment, energy and other related topics. The Clean Air Primer was jointly developed with the National Park Service, the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. It is a collection of interactive activities and units about clean air issues. It provides an excellent compendium of science resources on air quality, all in one convenient easy-to-use product. There is also a series of museum and event- exhibits, kiosks, and activities for building awareness about air quality.

The Clean Air Primer CD-ROM was developed to teach middle school and high school students about the causes and effects of air pollution and what actions can be taken to improve air quality. The materials focus on San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California's air quality, energy, environmental hazards and clean air issues organized into multiple learning modules for use with different ability and interest levels. The curriculum makes use of up-to-date techniques that include very high resolution fly-through movies using realistic 3D graphics. A wide variety of original animations, flash movies, and interactive activities are available to stimulate problem-solving and make learning an active experience. There are over 400 web-based pages in the resource database.

Included in the Primer, there are movies that are colorful and unique geo-spatial fly-throughs. They incorporates very realistic helicopter-like sequences of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and the Sierras. The fly-throughs can zoom in on specific areas down to viewing houses so that neighborhoods can be explored in-depth. The flights can be taken through clear air when no pollution can be seen and through the same air when what's in the air is made visible. It's an exciting way to experience why we should care about what's in the air.

After seeing the sources of pollution along the flight paths, you gain access to many multimedia areas of exploration in the overview, science, issues and policies, health, solutions, and problem-solving games sections. The resource materials offer challenging and engaging ways to learn about air pollutants, pollution sources, alternative fuel vehicles, clean energy and dangerous energy choices, and how air quality impacts people, the economy, and the environment.

Delphi delivers a set of resources full of unique materials about:

- California's unique climate, geography, and population patterns
- the major environmental, health, and economic impacts of pollution
- strategies to reduce emissions on particular days that could exceed federal ozone standards
- how to recognize, measure, and control the emission of other pollutants, such as small particles that have been identified as a health concern
- strategies to reduce pollution transport
- fun activities to explore about what we can do at home, at work, and traveling to help Spare the Air, reduce ozone precursors and particulate matter
- a rich set of interactive exercises about transportation solutions, ride alternatives, fire ecology, smoke management, and alternative fuel vehicles

The Clean Air Primer resources were developed with content reviewed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the California Air Resources Board, the National Park Service, and the California Department of Education.

Due to the efforts of organizations like the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the San Francisco Bay Area has achieved major reductions in air pollution through its efforts and the efforts of partner organizations like RIDES.ORG and the American Lung Association. Our air is now cleaner than it was 30 years ago. Although the air quality is better, unfortunately it still contains harmful pollution. With resources like the Clean Air Primer, we can encourage improvement of our personal actions and taking responsibility to do something every day to spare the air.

Delphi International has supported non-profit and public service organizations through the creation of subsidized educational materials. We have developed materials that are web-based, modular and very exciting for classroom and exhibit-based learning environments. Our goal is to take information from science and put it into the hands and minds of ordinary people to whom it is vitally important. We are very serious about concentrating on environmental programs because of their importance to our future. As we strive to make a positive difference in people's lives through service and interactive media-rich projects, we will ensure that educational presentation materials reach diverse groups, regardless of socio-economic background. We welcome working with public agencies, other companies, foundations, youth development agencies, and NGO's who share this mission.