Nye County featured in Discover Your Nevada campaign

This year’s Discover Your Nevada travel marketing campaign includes several Nye County towns.

The campaign, organized by the Nevada Division of Tourism, launched its annual Discover Your Nevada campaign in May to encourage Nevadans to explore the Silver State.

The Nevada Division of Tourism has developed six road-trip routes around the state, and travelers who check in via social media on the routes from Memorial Day through Labor Day using the hashtag #discoverNV17 will earn $1 toward a field trip fund.

The Free-Range Art Highway includes U.S. Highway 95 from Las Vegas to Tonopah with a detour to the Seven Magic Mountains on Interstate 15 and is one of the routes in the campaign.

Chris Moran, public relations specialist with the Nevada Division of Tourism, said the route also includes Beatty and Rhyolite. “The theme for this route was art, so the route was chosen to include outdoor art sculptures, including the Goldwell Open Air Museum near Beatty and the International Car Forest of the Last Church near Goldfield,” Moran said.

The campaign is a cooperative program with the Nevada Department of Education, which runs an essay contest for Nevada eighth-graders, the winners of which will be taken on an “ultimate field trip” in the state, according to the news release.

“Discover Your Nevada is really all about educating Nevadans on all the treasures and adventures they can find in their own backyard,” Claudia Vecchio, director of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, said. “The essay contest allows us to extend this spirit of discovery to our schools, and in the end, reward students for their creativity by exposing them to even more awe-inspiring scenery and activities on their field trip.”

In the fall, the Department of Education will conduct an essay contest among eighth-grade students to award the ultimate end-of-year field trip to the winning student. TravelNevada and the Nevada Department of Education will wrap up the campaign in the fall with an essay contest in the 2017-18 school year. Winning students in northern and southern Nevada will be awarded an educational road trip in Nevada.

“I commend Nevada parents and teachers who encouraged their eighth-graders to participate in the essay writing contest,” said Steve Canavero, superintendent of public instruction. “This is a terrific way for students to work on their writing skills while learning the colorful history of the Silver State.”

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77