Doubletree's Treaveling Exhibit Arrives at Orlando Science Center

"Eploring Trees Inside and Out"

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. October 14, 2008

ORLANDO, FL, September 15, 2008. For Orlando kids, autumn is just another season of sunny days and mild temperatures. Many will never experience the "season of color" when leaves change from green to vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow. Luckily, children of all ages will be able to experience the colors of fall this month as the Nature Explore "Exploring Trees Inside and Out" Traveling Exhibit plants its roots at the Orlando Science Center.

This three-year environmental education project encourages nature lovers young and old to explore the beauty of the great outdoors through the incredible wonders of trees. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, September 27 and will remain at the Center through Sunday, January 4.

Presented by Doubletree Hotels and developed by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, the spacious, 2,500-square-foot exhibit is designed to create a better understanding among children ages 2 to 10 about the significant role trees play in the environment. A variety of inventive and interactive elements allow children to explore trees in a multi-sensory way never before possible through its fun-packed and educational components. For example, children will be able to:

---| Sit inside a giant leaf and be surrounded by the light, sound, and sensation of photosynthesis

---| Help a seed "grow" into a young oak inside a huge acorn

---| Explore the "heart" of a tree trunk and move the "blood" of the tree up and down its "veins"

---| Smell scents from various trees, guess what they might be, then discover just a few of the many products we get from trees

---| Crawl through a log and experience it as a habitat for other living things

---| Hear the sounds of animals that live in trees, and even become a forest creature in a "green screen" experience that allows children to fly like a bird and soar over the treetops

---| "Perch" in a larger-than-life bird's nest and play among the nest's eggs and sticks

The Orlando Science Center is the third location to showcase the "Exploring Trees Inside and Out" Traveling exhibit after successful premieres at Pacific Science Center in Seattle and the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

"Doubletree Hotels and the Arbor Day Foundation have worked together to encourage kids and adults of all ages about the importance of trees in our everyday lives. As a result, we've proudly helped to plant more than 200,000 trees in cities across North America during the past five years," said Mary Beth Parks, vice president - brand marketing for Doubletree Hotels. "Exploring Trees Inside and Out" is a natural extension of this growing relationship, which we hope will inspire thousands of people in Orlando and cities across America to get out and explore the natural wonders outside their front doors."

"Exploring Trees Inside and Out" is part of Doubletree's latest effort to help raise environmental awareness among children - inspiring and empowering a new generation of children to take simple steps toward conserving and preserving the earth's natural resources. Following Orlando, the exhibit will continue to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum in February. The exhibit will travel to several of the top science centers and children's museums across the U.S. through the end of 2010.

In addition to sponsoring "Exploring Trees Inside and Out," Doubletree continues to grow its role in environmental education and awareness programs through various collaborations with organizations such as the Arbor Day Foundation. Since 2002, Doubletree has helped educate and inspire more than 100,000 elementary school students in communities across the U.S. and Canada about the importance of trees and being eco-conscious through its Teaching Kids to CARE program.

"The Arbor Day Foundation developed the "Exploring Trees Inside and Out" Traveling exhibit with Dimensions Educational Research Foundation in the hopes that people leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of trees," according to chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, John Rosenow. "We are appreciative that Doubletree Hotels has become the exclusive sponsor of this project that will continue to educate children and adults on the important role that nature plays in our everyday lives."

The Orlando Science Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Grounds stay open until 9 p.m. Friday through Saturday. The tree exhibit is included with admission: $23 for adults and $18 for children age 3-17 (kids age 2 and under are free).

For more information about the everyday importance of trees and the "Exploring Trees Inside and Out" Traveling exhibit, please visit www.doubletree.com/thinktrees.