Send a Monarch to Mexico! Symbolic Monarch Migration Update: October 20, 2000 Today's Update Includes: Roll Out the Red Carpet! Butterfly Briefing Minnesota & North American Ambassadors "Will You be an Ambassador?" Habla Usted Espanol, Gobernador? The Governor's Challenge! CQ #12 Thanks for the Spacious Staging Grounds! Monarchs Fly Free! What's in Store for Your Symbolic Butterflies? Before We Say Goodbye, Take a Final Glimpse Roll Out the Red Carpet! Student ambassadors, representing the states and provinces of the U.S. and Canada, welcomed the "Surprise Ambassador", Governor Jesse Ventura, to the Symbolic Monarch Staging Grounds this week. Wearing ceremonial sashes and carrying the flags of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, the students escorted the Governor and Mrs. Ventura down a red carpet receiving line, where they shook hands and greeted everyone before going into a room filled with thousands and thousands of your symbolic monarch butterflies! Butterfly Briefing The Governor came to the Symbolic Staging Grounds for a special briefing because he will be handing over your butterflies--and the responsibility they represent--at a special event at Papalote Museo del Nino in Mexico next week. Minnesota Ambassadors Surrounded by your Symbolic Butterflies, student ambassadors from Minnesota helped the Governor and Mrs. Ventura learn all about the fragile monarch migration. And thanks to all of your sightings this fall, the Governor saw the locations on the migration map where the monarchs are being reported right now on their journey south to the Sanctuaries. North American Ambassadors Student ambassadors representing North America also showed the Governor and Mrs. Ventura some of the many butterflies that you sent to Journey North. They admired your hard work and read some of the special messages that the Butterflies carried. "Will You be an Ambassador?" The students explained how the citizens from all three countries have a shared responsibility for this shared natural resource. They invited the Governor to be an ambassador for the butterflies on his trip to Mexico. He enthusiastically agreed, and praised all the students across North America who participate in the Symbolic migration, saying: "I learned so much about monarch butterflies that I did not know before. Thank you for the job you have done. Way down the line this will be very important to the relationship between our three countries: Mexico, the U.S. and Canada." Photo Gallery of the Briefing: Gallery 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Habla Usted Espanol, Gobernador? Governor and Mrs. Ventura made their own symbolic butterflies with help from student artists Ben and Monica, and even got a lesson in Spanish from Nicolas and Jessica who taught them to write: "Gracias por cuidar a las mariposas monarcas este invierno." The Governor's Challenge! We asked the Governor's help in preparing a Challenge Question for you all. Listen to the Governor Himself Asking You Challenge Question #12 (If you can't download: "How many Symbolic Butterflies do you think are flying to Mexico this year?") Cole asks the hard-hitting questions! Here are some hints to help you answer his Challenge Question: Hint: Since he is so strong, we wondered if he could lift ALL of the Symbolic Butterflies. Fourth grade students Jenna and Cole posed the question, and Governor Ventura told the students that he can lift 300 pounds. Hint: If Governor Ventura used all of his strength, he could lift 56% of this year's Symbolic Monarchs at one time. Hint: On average, 100 butterflies weigh 1.22 pounds. To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below. Be sure to explain how you "wrestled" with your answer! Good luck! Thanks to J. River for the Spacious Staging Grounds! The 125 N. First Street address where you mailed your butterflies is just a temporary staging grounds for your butterflies. But it's the permanent home of software publisher J. River, Inc. Special thanks to Earl, Mandel, Nema, Ruthan, Willie and everyone at J. River for hosting the thousands of butterflies that fly through here twice each year! Monarchs Fly Free! Governor Ventura lends UPS a helping hand to help load your precious cargo For the 5th year in a row, we're thrilled that UPS (United Parcel Service) has provided free and safe transportation for the Symbolic Butterflies! At the time of writing, the symbolic monarchs had already arrived in Mexico, just hours after their departure, making this one of the fastest migrations ever! We hope you'll take the time to thank UPS for this support! Without UPS, this free annual migration would not be possible. Please send your thanks to: Mr. Ed Gill District Manager COO Minnesota District United Parcel Service 3312 Broadway Street N.E. Minneapolis, MN 55413 What's in Store for Your Symbolic Butterflies? The next and FINAL Symbolic Migration Update will be posted on November 2, 2000, after your symbolic butterflies have arrived at their winter home in Mexico. The FINAL November 2 Update will include: Passenger Lists (to make sure your Symbolic Butterflies were on board!) The Total Number of Symbolic Butterflies This Year News About the Hand-Off of Butterflies to Mexican People A List of Donors to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation Before We Say Goodbye, Take a Final Glimpse For a final glimpse of some of the butterflies that are on their way to Mexico, be sure to visit the Symbolic Monarch Art Gallery on the WWW. Maybe you'll have one last look at your own! Symbolic Migration Art Gallery: Room 1 2 3 4 How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question IMPORTANT: Please answer ONLY ONE question in each e-mail message! 1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-monarch@learner.org 2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #12 3. In the body of the message, answer the question above. The FINAL Symbolic Monarch Migration Update Will be Posted on November 2, 2000 Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form