Famous, well traveled 'dog' stops at railroad museum Railroad traveller, 'AMS', the toy dog mascot of Connie Miller's Antigo Middle School class, is on display for the summer at the National Railroad Museum (photo by H. Marc Larson). Antigo teacher attracted national attention By Anna Krejci News-Chronicle A stuffed bulldog wearing a purple and white sweater is displayed at the National Rail Road Museum in Green Bay. The dog, named Ams, for the initials of Antigo Middle School, is the school's mascot that was sent almost 29,000 miles on Amtrak trains across the country. Its trip was the theme surrounding sixth-graders' curricula. Through the dog's trip, 17 students in Connie Miller's class studied U.S. geography, math and corresponded with people from all over the country while attracting a lot of media attention. The story has been printed in USA Today and covered by the Associated Press. Ams occupied the spotlight at a photo shoot and interview at Disney World in Florida. Marc Magliari, Amtrak media relations manager, became the mascot's guardian by tracking its journey. Sometimes Ams turned up in unexpected places, but was never lost, Magliari said. The dog unexpectedly arrived in New Orleans and spent an unscheduled stay in Kansas City, Mo. "It is my job to basically be its travel agent," he said. When asked how he felt about that, he replied, "It was never in my job description, but I'm happy to do it." The dog, displayed in a glass case, is surrounded by souvenirs from its destinations. Since leaving Portage in October, it traveled to 45 states, 50 cities and a Canadian province. The excursion ended in May when the dog and 100 genuine spikes from the Union Pacific Railroad rolled into Wausau. Hundreds of Amtrak employees shuffled the dog from city to city. Magliari said Amtrak had transported a teddy bear to raise awareness for a charitable cause, but Ams' journey in relationship to middle school lessons was unprecedented. The school's principal, Doug Knol, said "It was nicely integrated into the whole curriculum, so from the aspect of math, social studies, language arts, reading, it just all came together," he said. "They tracked its journey on the map, so they got more versed in how the United States looks and how far away these places are," he said. The vast support locally and nationally and the amount of media attention surprised Knol. "I expected him (Ams) to go out, come back, and that would be it," he said. "It kind of took a life of its own." The dog's travel might have improved the kids' educational experiences, but Magliari said it disrupted the monotonous jobs of train staff who transported a record breaking 24 million people in 2003. "You've gone past this town. The people change, but the job is pretty much the same," he said. An employee at the Houston ticket office obtained a NASA patch and the title of honorary astronaut for Ams. The certificate, signed by fellow astronaut, Mario Runco, Jr., is part of the museum's display. A Houston restaurant held an Ams night while a hotel reserved a room for the traveling stuffed mascot. The museum treated the sixth-grade class from Antigo to a tour of the museum. The museum wants to reach students, said Chuck Schuetz, curator. Sometimes the museum is the first time kids are exposed to railroad history, he said, but that is not the case with the Antigo Middle School class. "Here's a class of sixth-grade students that could probably speak as intelligently about railroads as some of us," he said. A visitor to the museum said she thought sending a toy around the country was neat. "Whatever helps the kids out," said Lynn Schmitt, Sheboygan Falls resident. The stuffed dog will be on display until mid-September.