Schenectady City School Children Visit the Schenectady Museum 100% Admission-Free Thanks to Transfinder

SCHENECTADY, NY (02/09/2009)(readMedia)-- Schenectady-based Transfinder, a national leader in school transportation software solutions, donated $1,000 to the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium to help area schools off-set the rising cost of field trips. As a result of the Transfinder donation, 53 third-graders from Howe Magnet School, 45 kindergartners from Van Corlaer Elementary School, and 54 first-graders from William Keane School will receive 100% free admission to the Museum & Planetarium.

Howe Magnet School's third-graders will visit the Museum's FETCH! Lab where they will participate in the FETCH! program Toy Chemistry, and will see the Cowboy Astronomer Planetarium show; Van Corlaer's kindergarteners will participate in the education program Who Are You, Scientist, learning about tools used by scientists and completing scientific experiments, and will attend the Planetarium show Wonderful Sky; and first-graders from Keane will participate in the education program Wow...Bugs! during which they will learn about insects and construct their own insect using basic concepts in biology, and attend the Planetarium show The Sky Above Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

"We are delighted to partner with Transfinder, and offer financial assistance to schools that might not otherwise be able to afford to send children to the Museum for a field trip. Transfinder's support is critical to the Museum, not only because it helps the Museum afford to welcome more than 10,000 students each school year, but because research clearly supports the importance of the informal learning environment we offer at the Museum, to help children stay engaged in math and science," noted Museum Executive Director Kerry Orlyk.

Antonio Civitella, Transfinder's president & CEO, added, "Field trips to outstanding educational institutions like the Schenectady Museum are a vital part of a young person's development. We are proud to help provide this experience for so many Schenectady school children."

About Transfinder

Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York, Transfinder is a national leader in student transportation management and communication systems and services, offering routing and scheduling solutions for optimal transportation logistics. A business partner of MapInfo Corporation, Transfinder applies MapInfo's industry-leading mapping technology and database management to deliver superior transportation and logistics management solutions. Transfinder products allow school districts to manage bus routes, provide safe and efficient student transportation, and to access a wealth of critical district information. For more information, visit www.transfinder.com.

Founded in 1934, the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium is a dynamic destination offering highly-engaging interactives, where science is fun for everyone. In addition to the Suits-Bueche Planetarium, which has the only GOTO Star Projector in the entire Northeast, the Museum houses the GE Photograph collection, with more than 1.6 million prints and negatives; an archival collection with more than 3,500 cubic feet of historic materials; and more than 40,000 objects relating to the history of science and technology. The Museum also offers the only FETCH! Lab in the entire Northeast, with hands-on activities patterned after the popular PBS show FETCH!, in collaboration with WHMT. During 2008, the Museum welcomed more than 44,000 visitors, including students, researchers, business leaders, tourists, and many others.