Where ‘Dave’ goes so go students

“Driver Dave” will be traveling across the United States this school year, and he’ll keep Aldrich Elementary School students apprised of his whereabouts.

I-Go Van & Storage Co., an agent of United Van Lines, is sharing a program with the fourth graders that will enable them to “tour” and study the geography and history of various U.S. cities through the travels of “Driver Dave,” a fictional van operator.

The program is called Discover America, said Brian Nogg of I-Go.

“It’s going to introduce some of the bigger cities in the country and talk about landmarks and things that go on in the city,” he said.

Nogg brought yarn, push pins and a map so students could track “Dave’s” October-through-May travels, which will include Chicago, St, Louis, Boston, New York, Portland, Ore., Denver, Washington, D.C., Sante Fe, N.M., Charleston, S.C., and San Francisco.

Aldrich’s 70 fourth-grade students gathered at the front of the school to hear Nogg’s presentation, ask questions and talk about their own moving experiences.

Teacher Carole Backhuus said geography, including international geography, is an important part of Aldrich’s fourth-grade curriculum, and the I-Go program will bring some advantages.

“For one, it will be a communication piece for us, which will be writing,” she said. “Also, we do have some children that are fairly well-traveled, but not everybody’s been everywhere. So this will be wonderful for us to get some more information on landmarks, on differences in cities, what Omaha is compared to Philadelphia, for instance. So we’re thinking this will be really exciting for us, and I like the opportunity that we’ll be able to communicate back and forth.”

Wednesday, the children were most excited with the opportunity to climb through a United truck.

“That’s the first thing they asked,” said teacher Marsha Edquist.

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