RELEASED: July 18, 2002

DANVILLE, KY—Earlier this summer the Governor's Scholars took a look at the world around them during International/Cross-Cultural Day at Centre College. The scholars stayed a little closer to home in subject matter this past Saturday, though they trekked off campus for the event.

The 343 GSP students at Centre spent the day visiting locations throughout Kentucky during the 2002 Explore Kentucky Day, which is in its sixth year.

The scholars split into eight groups and headed in all directions to view some of Kentucky's most historic and interesting destinations.

There was a tour of the Perryville battle site, where one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War was fought. There were nearly 40,000 men directly involved in the fighting; casualties exceeded 7,500. During the battle, Centre's oldest building, Old Centre, was used as a hospital by Confederate troops and then by Union soldiers after the battle.

Other trips included visits to Shakertown; the horse-racing track Keeneland and the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington; the Gorilla Forest exhibit at the Louisville Zoo, which is anticipated to draw nearly one million visitors this summer; a folk art center in Morehead; and other educational journeys.

"The world is our classroom," said Centre GSP Director Clarence Wyatt, associate professor of history and special assistant to the president at Centre. "This event exposes the scholars to special aspects of the state. Some will explore areas they haven't had a chance to see. We'll be taking scholars from the Louisville area to western Kentucky, and we'll be taking scholars from smaller areas to Louisville and Lexington. We want our scholars to take great pride in their state as a whole. This event fits well with the Governor's Scholars philosophy."

The 2002 Governor's Scholars Program is a five-week program in its 20th year. The Kentucky high school students, rising seniors honored by selection for the program, study a variety of topics such as government, foreign languages, the arts, history and sciences. GSP will conclude at Centre on July 27.

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