On Thursday evening, the first educational stop for the students was Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge. The students toured this interactive facility and saw physics and chemistry and various other science-related demonstrations in action. On Friday morning the students attended a marketing presentation given by the marketing department at Dixie Stampede. The students were told about all of the different types of promotions that the marketing department uses to promote this facility. The DECA students were also given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dixie Stampede facility. Next on the agenda was a visit to the Tanger Outlet Mall where the students were given a promotion assignment where they had to find several examples of advertising while they were shopping throughout over 100 retail stores.
On Friday afternoon the students visited the Rainforest Discovery Zoo where they saw many exotic animals from different countries around the globe. During a presentation by the zoo staff, the students also had the opportunity to get to touch some of the various species of animals at the zoo. The next stop on the trip was to the Titanic Museum. The students were welcomed by the owner, Mary Joplin who was previously a Disney executive and had been a producer of many television programs such as the Regis and Kathy Lee show. Mrs. Joplin did a marketing presentation about how the Titanic Museums are promoted. She also explained to the students how that they had acquired many of the items on display in the museum. To close out Friday evening, the students traveled back to the Dixie Stampede where they ate supper and enjoyed the seasonal Christmas show.
On Saturday morning the students toured the Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg. A marketing representative with the aquarium met with the students after the tour and informed them about various promotional activities that they do year-round to promote the aquarium. The next stop was to the Cirque D Chine show where the students were amazed by the heroic acrobat acts of the various performers. The final stop on the trip was the Comedy Barn. Students were entertained by various comedians, animal acts, and audience participants in a fun-filled, family-type atmosphere. The students saw examples of how that the Comedy Barn markets their products during the show to the audience to create additional sales for their business. It was a fun filled educational experience for everyone!