FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Museum to Offer College Credit and Summer Study Abroad in New Orleans and France

NEW ORLEANS (December 2, 2013) –The National WWII Museum, in partnership with Nicholls State University, is offering high school and college students the unique opportunity to gain hands-on leadership and decision-making skills based on those exhibited by the great leaders of WWII.

Normandy Academy is a unique summer study abroad program that challenges students with the same impactful decisions as generals, officers and soldiers during the historic D-Day invasions. The ten-day, leadership-themed program starts in the exhibits, archives and warehouses of The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and ends in the historic American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, Normandy. In between, students will visit battle sites, interact with French citizens and tour monuments and museums.

“This summer marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and the men who fought in Normandy are leaving us,” said National WWII Museum Senior Director of History and Research, Dr. Keith Huxen. “For students interested in history, this is an opportunity of a lifetime and never to be repeated.”

The National WWII Museum also offers students a summer learning experience in New Orleans. The Student Leadership Academy – Summer Residential Program takes students through the history of WWII with the aim of exploring leadership lessons from one of the most important periods in world history. This six-night, seven-day program immerses students in the Museum’s wealth of exhibits, artifacts, images and documents with structured Leadership Lesson Debates along the way. Students will experience what it was like to be a member of a five-man crew inside a Sherman Tank, inspect the flight logs of a bomber pilot and handle the gear of an infantryman in WWII.

Not only will students have the unique opportunity to study WWII history at one of the world’s top-rated museums and meet some of the men and women who experienced the war firsthand, they will also venture out to historic sites in the community, including the Chalmette National Battlefield and NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, the former site of the plant that produced the Higgins Boats used in the war.

Upon completion of these programs, students will leave with a deeper understanding of US history and knowledge of the skills exhibited by some of our nation’s most distinguished leaders.

Students who participate in Normandy Academy and Student Leadership Academy are eligible to receive three credit hours after a rigorous online course administered by the Museum and the history department of Nicholls State University, an accredited regional university located in Thibodaux, Louisiana. For more information, call (877) 813-3329 x 514 or visit www.ww2museumtours.org.

The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world – why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today.  Founded in 2000, the Museum  celebrates the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who served on the battlefront and the Home Front. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit www.nationalww2museum.org. Follow us on Twitter at WWIImuseum or visit our Facebook page.

Media Contact:
Rachel Haney
Public Relations Manager
504-528-1944 x 408
504-920-9569 mobile
rachel.haney@nationalww2museum.org

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