The Ney Frog Project has drawn national attention from the media. The discovery of deformed frogs on August 8, 1995 was recognized by a local newspaper but it wasn't until 10 days later that a metropolitan television station, KARE 11, featured the discovery on the evening news. However, the 'media blitz' really took us by surprise when, on August 25, the story hit the Associated Press. That morning our school was inundated with phone calls from television and radio stations and newspapers from around the country. Some of the more unusual calls were from FROG Radio in northern Minnesota, whose disc jockey is dubbed 'Hopalong Cassidy' and FROG TV from Knoxville, Tennessee.

The students and teachers spent the day at the frog pond, telling the story repeatedly for numerous television reporters. Two different TV stations brought their satellite trucks and did live reports from the frog pond. Students not only spent the day in the pond collecting frogs for television reports, they also had the opportunity to interview news reporters, photographers, and engineers about their careers. Talk about real life learning opportunities! It was quite exciting to be part of all this publicity. More than a year later, calls continue to come in from the media as well as other teachers and students in schools and universities around the country.

The discovery not only has attracted media attention but has grabbed the interest of professional scientists. Judy Helgen, a research scientist from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, expressed an interest in the project from the very start. She and her colleague, Mark Gernes, have become the coordinators of the project on the professional end. They have been involved in water and soil testing, tissue samples from the frogs,migration studies, and detailed research about every aspect of the project. They have consulted with experts in the field from around the country and continue to seek answers to this very troubling discovery.