Welcome to Kickin' It at Kickapoo!
This website captures the experiences of African-American youth from Danville, Illinois at Kickapoo State Park. If you are a park lover, we invite you to read, watch and comment on the youth's experiences and to add your own content to this interactive website.
This is a community-based project spearheaded by Illinois Public Media (WILL am.fm.tv.online) in 2009 with support from the Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Prairie Rivers Network, the Danville Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club of Danville and Keep Vermilion County Beautiful. All of us are working with and celebrating the youth participants. To learn more about the contributions of each organization, see our Partners List.
African-American youth from the Boys and Girls Club of Danville are participating in a series of activities at Kickapoo and then are being taught how to create video public service announcements to persuade other African-Americans of the benefits and joys of Kickapoo State Park. Their relationship with media professionals and personnel from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will expose them to potential career opportunities.
Using small FLIP video cameras, WILL is teaching these middle and high school students how to videotape footage of the park and the Advertising Department at the University of Illinois is teaching them how to create a public service announcements to convince their peers that Kickapoo is a fun place to visit. The videos will be posted on this website.
You can enjoy the park first hand by attending one of the WILL-sponsored Activity Days at the park.
Photo Credits: brokinhrt2 and metabrilliant via Flickr.
