Live from Yellowstone National Park it's … Ranger George?

Leaping into the multimedia wonders of webcasts, the nation's oldest national park is offering live educational broadcasts for a limited time this summer.

"Last year we did a camera over a crowd during a program that was already going, and that didn't work very well," said Tom Cawley, audio-visual specialist for the park. "So we decided we needed to do a program directly for the public. This is the first time this has been done anywhere in the Park Service."

The broadcasts are made each Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Geyser Hill, next to Old Faithful. The first test broadcast was made Monday, followed by the first full-fledged broadcast Tuesday. The morning broadcast covers the history of the area and historic structures - those still present as well as those now gone. The talk is illustrated with historic photos.

In the afternoon, Ranger George Heinz talks about Yellowstone's amazing array of hydrothermal features, pulling out a graphic representation of Old Faithful's innards as well as photos. Viewers who tuned in Thursday learned about mud pots, heat-loving bacteria, the temperature at which water boils in the geyser basin (199 degrees) and how Old Faithful's underground plumbing works.

"But first, we're going to turn around and watch the eruption of Old Faithful geyser," Heinz said in Thursday afternoon's broadcast.

Heinz mixes humor, history and science in his talk, keeping up a constant patter despite the distractions of visitors walking past on the basin's boardwalk.

"This is an amazing place," he said at the close of the afternoon broadcast, and then he invited viewers to come see for themselves - if not at Yellowstone, then at another national park. "You need to fall in love with one of these special places."

Cawley said the biggest logistical problem in airing the broadcasts has been getting the video and audio signal from Geyser Hill back to the Old Faithful Visitor Center, where the webcam feed is located.

Despite the glitch, he said, the project is going great, even though Cawley and Heinz are still working out the best ways to choreograph the talks.

"It's a completely different thing," Cawley said. "It's kind of exciting."

The Thursday morning broadcast included the eruption of Old Faithful and Plume geysers.

Cawley is hopeful that as word gets out, thousands will tune in to watch and learn more about Yellowstone. The broadcasts will continue through Aug. 14. After that, he said, they may pick the best two of the live performances and add them to the archives for viewing at any time. But it won't be the same, Cawley said.

"Viewing a live program is more compelling," he said. "I don't know what they're going to see. Those are the sort of things that are totally unpredictable."

The live programs can be viewed on the Old Faithful live streaming webcam at www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/yellowstonelive.htm.

Contact Brett French at french@billingsgazette.com or at 657-1387.