A bridge is under construction that will link Greensburg with Germany.
Stimulus money isn't involved. And the span isn't made of concrete and steel.
Greensburg Salem students will be using journals and the Internet to connect with students in Germany. The exchange is part of "Building a Transatlantic Bridge," a project involving the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Katie Barnard, museum director of education and visitor services, will be leaving for Germany today with the journals, most from Lisa Bevington's creative writing students and Kelley Audia's advanced art classes at Greensburg Salem High School.
Barnard will return with journals from students in Germany's Ruhr Valley, once a steel and heavy-industry giant like Western Pennsylvania.
"I think what will happen is they will discover that they have a common past," Barnard said. "And I think they will realize they have similarities in their lives — the music, what their schools are like."
The program, which will focus on art, music and the areas' industrial pasts, is inspired by an earlier exchange of art between the Greensburg museum and LVR-Industriemuseum in Oberhausen, Germany. "Born of Fire: The Valley of Work" debuted in Oberhausen in 2007 before traveling to Chemnitz, Germany, and Zabrze, Poland.
The collaboration is being funded through a grant from Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad, a program involving the State Department.
"We are excited to be working once again with our colleagues at the LVR-Industriemuseum to bring students and educators together around the theme of art and industry," said Judy O'Toole, museum chief executive officer.
Judy Ross, museum marketing director, said Thomas Schleper, LVR curator, liked the project from the beginning.
"He just got it. He had a vision. Right away, he started calling this 'Transatlantic Bridge,' " she said.
Barnard will record her visit with a camera and video equipment. A webcam will allow her to communicate with museum colleagues.
Art teacher Audia said she had been contemplating a way to use journals in her classroom. Then she encountered Barnard, and they agreed to have students share information about themselves in one page.
"It seemed like a perfect fit," Audia said. "The journal is like a perfect instrument."
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