PROGRAM OUTLINE
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Intro animation
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- Finding the Manhole
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- Into the Sewers
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- Rima's Room
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- Rima's GIS Computer and The Water Valve
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- Back to Rima's Room (with exit door)
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- Field's Point Treatment Plant
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SCENE SCRIPTS
- Hey kids, I'm Rima the Rat.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you flushed yourself down the toilet or got sucked down the bathroom drain?
You wanna find out?
Come explore the Providence sewers with me, and see if you'll be able to find your way out again.
Lead the way! - Water: Water pipes are used to carry water into the city to
your faucet, your shower, even the fire hydrant on the street. These are
different from the sewer pipes that carry dirty water way from
your toilets and drains.
- Gas: Natural gas is one way of heating houses and stoves.
Gas comes from underneath the ground in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico and
is sent through underground pipes to homes all over Providence.
- Electricity: Electricity is essential to every city.
It powers lights, televisions, computers, refrigerators and more.
- Telephone: Ring-rring. These are the underground wires
that carry phone conversations between your telephone and a friend's. Too bad
you can't call from the sewers without a cellular phone!
- Storm Drain: When it rains, water pours into the storm drain where it meets up with waste water from your home, and your friends' homes, and my
friends' homes, and my brother Larry's chicken restaurant...
- Fire Hydrant: Where do you think the water comes from for the fire hydrant? Try looking on the other side of the street.
- Woo hoo! You guessed it!
Manholes are how workers get from the
streets to the systems underground. It's also how I get home.
Get ready for an adventure under the streets of Providence! -
We're in the sewers now!
Mmmm, Mmmmm, I just love that smell!
It smells like dirty old socks, and spoiled eggs, and my wet dog, and my cousin Sam...
Sewers smell so good because they carry all the waste water from the city to the ocean where the water gets cleaned and purified.
I love living in the sewers! - Why if it isn't Rima the Rat and a new friend!
I dig swiming around in this current.
Ya see, the sewers in Providence use gravity to move the water towards the ocean.
The only problem is that sometimes when it rains too hard,the sewer pipes overflow and raw sewage (including stuff from your toilet) goes straight out into the ocean.Anyway, you wanna take a swim? It's great excercise-- and I promise not to eat you!
- "Not that way. You gotta go with the flow!"
If kid clicks on downstream arrow, rat says: - I can't wait to show you my pad! I live in one of the biggest sewer pipes in the city. Most of the smaller pipes eventually connect to bigger central pipes.
- Welcome to my humble abode... or should I say my palace?
{Pointing upwards} I just love these high ceilings.
Did you know some sewer pipes are big enough to drive a car through?
Feel free to look around.Items in the room that respond to user clicks: - Sick rat in bed who sits up: Cough cough, I'm almost always
sick cause there's so many germs in the sewer.
Without sewers, you'd probably get sick too!
Buddy Cianci picture: Hey, kids, I'm Buddy Ciance the mayor of Providence. I'm one of the people that helps plan the city. Don't forget to buy my pasta sauce!
GIS Computer: (This takes kid to close up of GIS computer and transitions into the next scene...)
Exit Door: (Clicking on the door takes kid to community valve scene) - I see you've found my prized possession, my GIS computer.
GIS stands for Geographic Information System.
People that work for the city use GIS when they plan new roads, phone lines, electric wires, and buildings.
I made this computer out of old parts that got washed down into the storm drains.
You wanna try it out?There are 6 dials on the machine labeled on, off, zoom i, zoom out, <--, -->
Kid clicks "on" button, and computer revs up: - You'll be able to see where you climbed down
the manhole, where we are now, and where the sewer ends at Field's Point
Treatment Plant.
- Sewers are an important part of a big system which
controls the water supply in our city.
Water pipes like these (Points to a blue water pipe) bring clean water to the city.
The sewers take dirty water away from the city.You wanna see what happens when the city has no water? Turn that valve, I dare you!!
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Animation 1- Boy wants to take a shower, but there's no water.
He'll smell as bad as Rima!
Animation 2- A sunflower in a greenhouse wilts.
Animation 3- A public fountain runs dry.
Animation 4- A house is on fire and fireman can't put it out. - Whew, that's fun. I love doing that.
- This is Field's Point treatment plant.
It's where all of the dirty waste water gets filtered and cleaned.
The treatment plant sure looks pretty, but it smells clean-- ooooh, I really hate being clean.Feel free to look around. When you're done, just click on my head.
- It's been great hanging out with you,
but it gotta go scrounge around for dinner.
You should go home and take a long shower-- you smell like sewer!So long! Take care!
- Home | Description | Screen Shots |
A street scene fades onto the screen. Rima the Rat greets you.
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RIMA:
- User mouses over hot-spots on screen. Hot-spots include utilities covers
along the street. Text bubbles explaining their function pops up each time
the user clicks on the hot-spot:
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TEXT BUBBLES:
- If user clicks on sewer...
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RIMA:
- Zoom into sewer manhole, transition to next scene...
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RIMA:
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An alligator enters the screen and swims back and forth. De La Soul
sample plays. When sound is done and kid clicks the mouse, Mr. Gator talks
to the user.
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Gator:
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Suddenly there's a big rain storm and a rush of water washes the
crocodile off screen. The crocodile yells, "Whoaaaa...!"
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RIMA: I live towards the ocean. Lead the way!
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RIMA:
Zoom into a close up of the computer screen, where GIS maps and
aerial maps of Providence and Rhode Island are displayed.
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RIMA:
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RIMA:
- Maps appear on the screen. Rima consults user when each map loads up.
There are four in all that display sewer data in the form of blue lines, or that are aerial photographs of downtown Providence. Landmarks are labeled on the maps.
Kid can click and drag on the map to pan. Pushing the arrow keys causes other maps to appear. Clicking on the off button exits the computer room and puts kid back in rat's room.
Rima appears standing in the middle of the sewer pipe right outside her
room. There is a valve,in the form of a ship's wheel, off to the right, attached to a water pipe.
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RIMA:
- Kid clicks on the valve, sirens go off, the screen flashes
red we cut to split screens comprised of four mini-scenes.
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After the scenes are over...
RIMA, grinning:
Rima is set against a collage of the treatment facilities at Field's
Point.
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RIMA:
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User can scroll around large image of treatment plant. Treatment plant
has several hot-spots - like in the first scene - where user can read more
about how the sewage is processed and put back in the ocean:
When user is ready to leave...
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RIMA:
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Scene fades out, and we're at