Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Wed, Feb 01, 2012 @ 02:16 PM
I posted some photos recently from a performance by our Piankeshaw Trails Native American school assembly in the Chicago area, and I wanted to share another one. But this morning we also received a lovely piece of video put together by a good friend of ours following a performance at his school, so that is included here, too!
Piankeshaw Trails is an awesome program bringing to life the rich traditions and history of the Native American Woodland Indian Tribes of the Ohio Valley states. Performed by a trained anthropologist who was married to a Native American, this super cool and very “hands on” school show is a blast for all kids, but especially for intermediate grades who are required to study the local tribes of their states history.
We recently brought the program to Washington Elementary in Warsaw, Indiana, where the principal is Mr. Tom Ray, a longtime friend of Mobile Ed Productions. Tom shot some photos of the day and put together the short video that we are kindly allowed to share here. Thanks, Tom! And thanks to all the staff and students at washington! We loved being there, and, by the looks of things, you loved having us!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 02:16 PM
OK, so for those of you who noticed, we managed to skip January with our School Assembly Dog of the Month, so we will forge ahead into February a day early!
The new School Assembly Dog of the Month Award for February goes to a real canine star! This month we feature Uggie, the costar of the recent hit movie “The Artist”. If you have not seen the film, you should! It is a wonderful tale of Hollywood actors in the days when Silent Films were being overtaken by “talkies”. Uggie , a Jack Russell Terrier, plays the side kick to the star actor both on and off screen in the film, and at one point, literally saves his life! Uggie has been nominated for a prestigious “Golden Collar” award for his work in the film.
None of this is new, of course, for Uggie, who has worked in many films and received awards for his work before. But this magic moment marks the end of a career for Uggie who has announced through his spokesman/handler that he will now be entering his retirement, in order, we are certain, to “spend more time with his family”.
Ironically, Uggie almost never made it out of his early life. A resident at a shelter, Uggie was rescued and fostered, finally proving trainable enough to be able to act in films. 
But, as you can imagine, he left behind millions of other equally deserving dogs and cats who will never be rescued, and many of whom will, tragically, face euthanasia.
Mobile Ed’s school assembly Animals and the Environment teaches kids in schools across the country about threats animals face from a number of environmental sources, from poaching to habitat destruction. But we also try to teach kids the responsibilities that go along with pet ownership.
So here’s to Uggie! Bu, also, here’s to all the other wonderful dogs and cats just waiting their turn in shelters all over this country. May they all be as lucky as Uggie!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Sun, Jan 29, 2012 @ 01:00 PM
Television technology has become an intrinsic and indisputably important part of our lives. Computers, the internet and video are on a collision course with each other and with our future. The adults of tomorrow will need to know and understand this technology in ways most of us do not, and they will need to be able to make use of the fusion between these areas in new and creative ways as they roll through the world they are inheriting.
So it is important that they be introduced to some of the basics at an early point in their development that they are then able to determine the degree they may wish to delve into these brave new worlds as they progress toward career choices.
Mobile Ed loves to help in this process by way of an awesome school assembly program entitled Lights, Camera, Action! Introduced several years ago, but with constant updates added in order to remain current with industry breakthroughs, this spectacular school show utilizes advanced video equipment to introduce students to various techniques of television production in a fast paced and exceptionally fun format. Not only do many of the audience members participate in direct, hands on activities, but at the end of the day the school retains a DVD containing a produced souvenir record of the days event.
The photos shown here are from a three day residency by Mobile Ed performer Derek McDonald in the Highland School District near Medina, Ohio. All three schools there took part on successive days and the entire elementary student body of the district was involved. To say they had fun would be to state the obvious, but more importantly all were treated to an educationally beneficial school assembly that may well influence some to follow a new career path down the line.
This same program was invited back again this year having already appeared in Highland schools once or twice in past years. Derek is a real favorite here, not only with Lights, Camera, Action, but also with another school show he carries entitled Inspector Iwannano. The latter is a very popular “character education” assembly program based around the core “Pillars of Character” familiar to all who know the famous “Character Counts” initiative.
Whichever program the very talented Derek brings, the students of the Highland schools know that when he arrives at their school in the morning they are sure to have an awesome and fun day in store! And one last item to remember. Like all Mobile Ed school assemblies, Lights Camera Action is priced at a very affordable level, and provides an exceptionally good value for hard pressed school budgets!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 12:38 PM
We are celebrating a birthday here at Mobile Ed Productions today! Mobile Ed is, of course, located in Michigan where we were founded more than thirty years ago, and from where we have launched super cool school assemblies on tours taking them to most of the states in our country. But Michigan is our home, and today is the birthday of the State of Michigan!
Of course, Native Americans have been living in this part of the world much longer, but Europeans first arrived here in 1618 in the form of French explorers. The first permanent settlement by Europeans began in 1868 at Sault Ste. Marie ( for those of you not from Michigan, the correct pronunciation is nothing like it looks - Soo-Sane-Marie is pretty close).
The British kicked out the French in 1763, and Americans fought the British for it between 1776 and 1812. We won!
Michigan was organized as a U.S. Territory on January 11, 1805, and then became our 26th state on January 26, 1837! So Happy Birthday Michigan! Many Happy Returns!
Though Mobile Ed is now a national company, and possibly the largest in our field (certainly one of the oldest and most respected) as Michigan natives we are proud of our state. From this “pleasant peninsula” we have, for more than thirty years, sent out tour after tour loaded with high quality, exciting, professional school shows and we have dazzled literally millions of children all over the country. We now have children coming to our programs whose parents themselves watched our shows as they were growing up. And all of them have benefited from not only the inherent entertainment value found in the cool explosions, awesome planetariums, exciting characters, and so on, but also from the educational value so intrinsically woven into all our school assemblies.
Of late, with the stress of meeting state educational standards in testing, some principals and superintendents have been turning away from school assemblies, choosing to focus rather on “time on task”. What a mistake! Great educational school assemblies are an important motivation and inspiration for kids, and the contribution made to a child’s development by spending 45 minutes in a portable planetarium or in the company of President Lincoln cannot be overstated. Just recently I spoke to a beautiful and successful woman, with kids of her own, who confessed that a school assembly she saw from us when she was young was a major influence on her choice of career. We have heard stories such as this before, and many times! We open children's minds and teach them to find excitement where they never expected to find it. Once that occurs, learning rushes in. We are humbly but solidly proud of the contributions we have made, and very proud to have made them as a Michigan company, taking learning to the world!
Happy Birthday, Michigan!
And many more! :-)
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 @ 01:32 PM
January is a full month when it comes to the history of Native Americans. A lot of things happened in past Januarys. Going all the way back to 1689 when the Abenaki Indians attacked a settlement in Saco, Maine and killed nine settlers. In 1706, Spanish leaders, trying to improve relations, met with leaders from the nearby Pirtle Indian tribes. In 1830, Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha), the great Seneca leader dies. Born around 1779 he was known as a great speaker and for his refusal to adopt “white ways”. And in 1863, the Bear River massacre takes place in which hundreds of California volunteers attacked Northern Shoshone Indians and killed several hundred, possibly including women and children.
The history of the original Americans is fascinating, sad, powerful and inspirational. And it is a story that all of our children need to learn. Which is why we have been so pleased this year to finally have a top class school assembly to offer covering this very topic!
We recently had our new Native American school assembly - Piankeshaw Trails - in the greater Chicago area and we received some great reviews and some new pictures I thought I would share with you.
The show was at Ravinia Elementary in Highland Park, Illinois, and they loved it!
Our client there is Ms. Deb Starkman, and she wrote this to us after the show:
“This program was wonderful! Sheryl brought many amazing pieces to help bring this information to life. The students were engaged throughout the program and were excited to participate!”
Well, that seems to be born out by these photos!
Piankeshaw Trails is indeed an awesome school assembly, and one that is especially pertinent this time of year for two reasons. Winter and Spring are often the times when teachers move into the social studies component that contains study of Native Americans, and Piankeshaw Trails augments and supports those studies perfectly. But February s also the time of year when many Cub Scout Packs begin hosting their Blue and Gold Banquets. Piankeshaw Trails makes absolutely perfect entertainment for a Blue and Gold Banquet!
So check out these cool pictures! When can we bring Piankeshaw Trails to your school?
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 @ 10:57 AM
Being a Midwest based company, with offices here in Redford, Michigan, and a large number of our school assemblies taking place in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, we often forget to write about the great school shows that we send into schools in California. It is time to rectify that situation!
Aside from the tours that pass through the Golden State, we have a short list of very talented presenters that make their home in Southern California and are available there year round. Together they provide a wonderful and unmatched resource for schools in California in need of school assemblies.
First we have the marvelous Mario, who presents The Earth Dome, our portable planetarium The Sky Dome and our interactive television production assembly Lights Camera Action. He is equally skilled and effective with all three. Here is a comment from a school in Vacaville, California:
“The enormous size of The earth and the way Prof. mario kept shifting the students focus really kept the students attention. He made the experience very interactive and enjoyable for the students!”
All tens!
Next up is the lovely Karina who visits schools with three great assemblies. She is our wonderful actress in They Made a Difference, bringing the history of some famous women to magical life, and she is also the fantastic Mime and teacher appearing in Young Authors Day and Mime Time. A fabulously entertaining performer, Karina is wonderful with the kids and a real asset to our company!
Here is a comment from Victorville, California following Young Authors day:
“Program performance was neat! Everyone, of all ages, enjoyed it a lot!”
All tens!
Last, but certainly not the least, we have the magnificent Barry Cutler. A successful actor on stage and screen, as well as a wonderfully witty and talented writer, Barry offers schools a number of choices. During the months of January and February Barry brings his “acting chops” to The Living Lincoln and does a great job in that role. A client in Camarillo, California summed it up very succinctly: “Great Job!!!”
All tens.
But Barry also offers a wonderful version of our science assembly The Magic of Science. Bringing forth his best “mad scientist”, Barry is wonderfully entertaining as he takes kids on an awesome ride through the worlds of Chemistry, Physics, Light and Sound. A client school in Half Moon Bay, California had this to say:
“It was a fun performance that our students really enjoyed! This program is great way to bring some excitement to science!”
But Barry doesn’t stop there! He also offer two additional shows. In the area of Character Education he offers the wacky Inspector Iwannano and lessons in Character Counts, and, just in time to help improve scores in state wide testing, he rolls in with Imathimation, a super cool assembly that brings out the fun in Math!
So times are good in California! With a slate of superb and professional presenters like these, as well as the occasional tour that rolls through, schools in California looking for school assembly ideas need look no further! Mobile Ed has the West Coast covered with great school shows and awesome school assembly performers!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 @ 10:20 AM
Stronger Than a Bully, the new Anti Bullying school assembly Mobile Ed premiered last August, has enjoyed a smashingly successful freshman season this school year. Winning rave reviews everywhere from Massachusetts to Texas, the tour is virtually sold out for the remainder of this school year (a few odd slots do remain in some select areas, so be sure to check if you are interested!).
As we move into February, we here at Mobile Ed now approach an annual task we really hate. With tours traveling across the country every year and visiting schools in more than thirty states, every February we must prepare the tour itineraries for each performer, deciding which states the tour will visit and when, during the coming year. In order to try and please as many of our clients as possible, we maintain a waiting list throughout the year, so that in planning the tours we have a good idea of where our demand lies. Additionally, schools on the waiting list, though under no obligation, receive first notification and an early chance at available dates when we begin scheduling. in March.
Stronger Than a Bully, along with a number of other programs, now has a long waiting list in most states for 2012-2013. If you are interested in bringing this awesome anti bullying program to your school next year, we urge you to call soon and have your schools name placed on the list so as to not miss out on what will surely be a superb but heavily booked sophomore year.
By the way, I was at a performance of this school show back in December, and shot a little poor quality video. The kids loved the show and so did the staff. You can hear the audience laughing and having a great time. Here is a quick teaser from the lower elementary performance that day:
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Thu, Jan 19, 2012 @ 09:43 AM
Science is not the same as science fiction, but they certainly have one thing in common. Both focus on our future. Actual science is the underpinning of technology and advancements in almost every field effecting our health, economy and survival. And when it comes to real science, American students are not doing so well.
According to a report card on American schools put out by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) last year, “just 34% of fourth graders, 30% of eighth graders and 21% of twelfth graders are performing at or above “proficient”.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0125/Report-card-on-science-Most-US-students-aren-t-proficient
If we are to compete in the global marketplace in this century and successfully face the challenges held in store for us, we must clearly do better.
How do we do better?
Personally, I have kids, and what I have noticed among their friends, starting in elementary schools, is an attitude that science is boring and for “nerds”. My kids know better, of course, as they have been exposed to awesome and super cool science experiments since they were tiny. And there in lies the key. If you approach kids early in their development with clear examples showing how much fun science can be, and then continue to feed the resulting curiosity with more “cool” stuff as they grow, they will become young adults without any negative prejudice about science.
School science assemblies are a perfect tool for doing just exactly that! Most elementary schools lack the resources to show young students the effects of, say, liquid nitrogen, or to expose them to controlled explosions resulting from mixes of various gases exposed to flame. Yet these exact demonstrations appeal to children in a visceral way, reaching them with immediate and lasting results.
For more than thirty years we have been traveling to schools and presenting science assemblies and the results are powerful and obvious. Today we are reaching the end of the run for a very long lasting and successful science assembly which will be retired at the end of this school year. Chemistry! It Really Matters! has been a tireless soldier in this war on ignorance, and as the third incarnation of a chemistry school assembly from Mobile Ed, follows in a long and successful line extending back to our birth in 1979. But all good things must end. In the Fall of 2012 Mobile Ed will introduce a brand new chemistry program to schools in Michigan and beyond. Lacking a title at present, this new Chemistry 4.0 will incorporate some of the best of previous chemistry school shows we have offered in the past along with new experiments, and graphics more related to the times in which we live and directly tied to current academic standards.
But for now, we are sad to part with an old friend. Here is some video of Chemistry! It Really Matters!:
Look for more details of the new Chemistry program is the days and weeks to come! In the meantime, Chemistry! It Really Matters continues to deliver awesome displays to students through June of this year. Check to see if dates are still open in your area.
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 09:35 AM
OK, time for a little blowing of our own horn. Year after year, all over the country schools offer up acclaim for our awesome portable planetarium, The Sky Dome. Four separate tours carrying this brilliant inflatable planetarium travel all over the country every year.
Now out West, in California, schools are fortunate in that we have a tour resident in the Golden State just for them! And our California school shows presenter is magnificent! The marvelously suave and sophisticated skills of Mario, our handsome European astronomer, dazzle kids, parents and teachers alike all year round on the sunny west coast!
Our client in Kings Beach, California had this to say:
“Awesome! Parents, students and teachers loved getting up close and personal with the universe!”
In San Gabriel, California a teacher remarked:
“Students LOVED the presentation! The updated technology is amazing!”
And at Crossroads Elementary in Riverbank, California, we heard this:
“Mario is a fantastic presenter! I would recommend we have you visit every year!”
And that is just a small sampling of the feedback we receive from California schools about our portable planetarium school show with Mario. It is simply the best! California schools still seeking school shows and ideas for school assemblies for this year or next should look into the Sky Dome!
Of course, Sky Dome is equally good in other parts of the country. Our other presenters are also excellent, so regardless of where your school sits, the Sky Dome can come to you and everyone will have a great time!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 @ 08:51 AM
I finally got out to see a performance of our newest science assembly last week! Wow! I am so pleased, and so were the kids in the audience at the school in Clio, Michigan where this awesome show show took place!
The Invisible Wonder rocked into schools for the first time last Fall. Though I helped create the show, and worked on getting it “off the ground” (heh, heh, heh) I had not seen it since it went on the road back in August. Wow! In the wonderful hands of Mobile Ed performer extraordinaire Tom Johnson (AKA – Toma the Mime), this show has wings!
I shot some video, which, with the help of my 15 year old daughter, we just edited together for your viewing pleasure. Here is how it looks:
As you can see, Toma is his fabulous funny self as always, and it is obvious that he really enjoys performing this great school science assembly.
If you are still looking for ideas for elementary assemblies this year, see if Tom and The Invisible Wonder will be in your area. You will be very pleased. I have been viewing school shows for more than twenty years and The Invisible Wonder is as good or better than any I have seen. Do yourself a favor and invite The Invisible Wonder into your school today!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.