The 2001 Multimedia Team research group has taken quite an interesting research topic this year. Our research is centered around a collaboration with another research group entitled Math of the Great Dismal Swamp (MGDS). Certain aspects of our research are based around their research.
The Great Dismal Swamp Wetlands and Wildlife Refuge is a heavily forested area of land and water located in Suffolk and Chesapeake, Virginia. It also stretches to North Carolina in the counties of Gates, Camden, and Pasquotank. The property has been used to make the public aware of the essential role that wetlands play in the coastal plains area. It has also been used for research and educational purposes. The goal of this year's Multimedia Team is to create an educational poster for the Dismal Swamp which will attract the attention of Kindergarten to third graders and make them aware of the swamp's importance while addressing required mathematics standards.
The final product of our research is to complete a professional poster for the Dismal Swamp which will attract the attention and aid in the understanding of the swamp for Kindergarten through third graders.

Developing the Lesson Plans for the Poster
Mathematics of the Great Dismal Swamp Team

The primary focus of this research was to make connections between mathematics and the current ECSU Great Dismal Swamp research projects. These connections will assist us in developing lesson plans for students in grades pre-K through grade 2. The Mathematics of the Great Dismal Swamp Team reviewed results of faculty and student research projects to identify sources used in the mathematics preparation of children at this grade level. We then produced educational lessons, which? incorporated mathematical concepts from the data collected.
We realize the importance of the mathematical developments, which occur in students in grade pre-k through grade 2. Thus, this project was designed to build on the curiosity and enthusiasm of children as it relates to the study of mathematics. Appropriate mathematical experiences were designed to challenge young children to explore ideas related to data analysis and probability, measurement, mathematical connections, algebraic concepts, and numerical operations. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics lists these topics and many others as those which young children should be
exposed to as early as pre-k through grade 2.
The lessons developed have been produced on a poster and will be submitted to NASA's Earth Science product review committee. The review criteria and guidelines are available at http://www.strategies.org/ESEReview.html. The mathematics team worked closely with the multimedia team, whose research project will produce the image of the swamp to be displayed on the front of the poster.