Pelosi Statement Welcoming 'Rolling Rainforest' Exhibit to San Francisco

September 4, 2003

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi inserted the following statement into the Congressional Record today in celebration of the Rolling Rainforest exhibit that will be in San Francisco from September 6 - 9:

"Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to bring to the attention of my colleagues a wonderful exhibit, the Rolling Rainforest, as it comes to San Francisco on its maiden journey across America.

"The Rolling Rainforest is a classroom on wheels. Inside a 53-foot tractor-trailer, the magic of a rainforest environment is reproduced as a mobile museum, transporting the message of environmental stewardship to underserved schoolchildren.

"It has traveled from the nation’s capital to the Golden State to participate in the 150th anniversary celebration of the California Academy of Sciences. During its visit to San Francisco, the Rolling Rainforest will reach out to the Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School in San Francisco, Lincoln School in Vallejo, and the Golden Gate Elementary School in Oakland.

"Since it was first launched in Washington, D.C. last October, the Rolling Rainforest has had more than 25,000 visitors come to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a rainforest. Inside the exhibit, children are introduced to a sloth hiding in the forest canopy, beautiful butterflies, and exotic birds line the explorer’s path to the scientist’s hut where experiments are conducted using rainforest products - chocolate, vanilla and coffee. It is an enchanted trail that leads children on a new discovery.

"Mr. Speaker, rainforests are a precious gift. About 25 percent of the world’s forests are rainforests, and they are home to one half of the earth’s plant and animal species. Rainforests possess an ecosystem that is based on a complex interdependence of plants and animals. One of the critical lessons derived from the exhibit is the essential relationship of the rainforest to our surroundings and daily lives.

"These lessons are conveyed in the environmental education message from the Rolling Rainforest exhibit, and they are developed and delivered in a manner that reaches younger generations. The exhibit teaches young people the importance of environmental stewardship in their communities and prepares them to be good stewards of the earth’s natural environment.

"Congratulations to the Discovery Creek Children’s Museum on its San Francisco debut of the Rolling Rainforest!"

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