University of Wisconsin–Madison

England: Andrea Chavez-Lazaro (Learning on Excursions)

Learning on Excursions

A dark room with multiple screens showing the greens and pinks of the Northern Lights in the starry night sky.
One of the screens from the experience.

For my Media in Britain class, we have been learning about the BBC. We have learned about their role as public service broadcasters and about their aim to be educational and entertaining as well. Everyone in the UK pays 159 pounds a year per household with a TV to have unlimited access to the channel without ads. On October 4th, I went to the BBC Earth Experience with the class and learned about different species and forms of nature narrated by David Attenborough. They had big screens and cushions spread throughout while they played videos traveling from continent to continent. In different rooms, they had interactive screens that would react to one’s movement to make a more sensory focused experience. This experience shows the BBC’s dedication as public service broadcasters towards public good. I was able to see the way they use education and entertainment together to create beautiful presentations of the natural world. Public service broadcasting was an unfamiliar topic for me at first coming from the United States. I did not realize the benefits and positivity that comes from access to programs like the BBC. They used creativity to make the experience; it was amazing to see the effects of the channel shown in ways beyond a screen.

 

Andrea smiles while sitting in the booth of a restaurant.

Andrea Chavez-Lazaro

Major: Psychology

Hometown: Verona, Wisconsin