A&T Integrated recently won two awards at the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards through the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). These awards recognize excellence in government communication products and those who produce them.

A&T’s work with the National Park Services’ Shenandoah National Park was awarded second place in the ‘K-12 Educational Program’ category and third place in ‘Digital – Website’ category. The project, just one of a series for Shenandoah, is entitled “Life at Lewis Mountain: Shenandoah in the Jim Crow Era”.

A&T created an engaging website featuring a multimedia video series and five interactive activities which detail life during the Jim Crow Era, the creation of Shenandoah’s Lewis Mountain picnic area and campgrounds, and the Park’s segregation and eventual reintegration. The activities include photo analysis, creative writing, an interactive photo timeline, and poster design.

One of the particularly special activities centered around hearing testimony about life at the then-segregated Lewis Mountain picnic area—firsthand from real residents and visitors! We were able to utilize NPS’ historical archive of Lewis Mountain Oral History interviews, including audio clips of members of the Tutt, Taylor, and Wright families.

Another stand-out activity puts website visitors ‘in the driver's seat’ on a Virtual Road Trip where they navigate through some potential hazards African Americans may have encountered while taking a road trip during the Jim Crow Era.

The goal was to extend the Park’s reach by offering educational materials and thought-provoking activities accessible to young people nationwide on NPS.gov. The interactive curriculum allows viewers to save and download their work as a PDF file, either to submit to their instructor or upload to their classroom software.  All elements were developed to be 508 compliant using the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

This work was only the most recent of a series of award-winning work for Shenandoah National Park, including three other interactive experiences entitled “Spirit of the Mountain: The Story of Shenandoah National Park”, “Civilian Conservation Corps: A New Deal to Rebuild a Nation”, and “Herbert Hoover and Shenandoah: A Retreat Fit for a President”. These curriculums have been honored with:

• a WEB Award for ‘Education for Websites, Outstanding’
• a Gold W3 Award for ‘Education for Websites’
• a Gold Advertising Association of Baltimore Addy Award for ‘Interface & Navigation Website’
• a W3 award for ‘Government Website’

Congratulations to the A&T Integrated Team and Shenandoah National Park! You can explore A&T’s groundbreaking work with “Life at Lewis Mountain” here.