NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Where does state government get its money? Why are there so many counties in Tennessee? How does a bill really become law in the Volunteer State? What do the members of the Capitol Hill Press Corps do? What are ten things about Tennessee every middle school student should know?

The answers to these and many other important questions are spelled out and wonderfully illustrated in a newly published section of the Tennessee History for Kids web site, which can be found on the internet at www.tnhistoryforkids.org.

The civics section was written by Tennessee History for Kids executive director Bill Carey, while edited and strongly influenced by a panel of Tennessee state government experts. This group includes Comptroller Emeritus William Snodgrass; former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Drowota; Tennessee Regulatory Authority director Pat Miller; State Senator Mark Norris; State Representatives Rob Briley, Debra Maggart and Gary Odom; reporters Richard Locker of the Memphis Commercial Appeal and Ed Cromer of Tennessee Journal; and others.

"I'm already beginning to hear that the kids love this new section," Carey says.

"Tennessee History for Kids is a bipartisan solution to a bi-partisan problem. I am grateful for everyone who helped us put this together."

The Tennessee History for Kids web site helps teachers teach, students learn and parents help with the subjects of Tennessee history, civics and geography. It serves as the flagship for a 501c3 organization started in November 2004 to deal with the lack of state history books in Tennessee's schools.

The Tennessee History for Kids organization is a public-private partnership. Among its sponsors are the Tennessee Department of Education; the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development; the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Bridgestone/Firestone; HCA; Nissan; Education Networks of America; the law firm Bone McAllester Norton; and the Frist and Memorial Foundations.

The Tennessee History for Kids web site now includes separate texts for grades 2, 4, 5 and 8; brief biographical descriptions of 50 famous Tennesseans; separate pages for each of Tennessee's 95 counties; virtual tours of field trip destinations; a rotating photo gallery; and much more.

The web site is now being used in between 300 and 350 classes a day, a number Carey believes will greatly increase in coming months.