Polycom Supports Fleet Week Using Telepresence to Put Sixth Graders on the Decks of USS Intrepid

Telepresence Education Programs and Virtual Field Trips to Intrepid Museum Immerse Students Attending Youth Leadership Conference in Life Aboard an Aircraft Carrier

NEW YORK and PLEASANTON, Calif. - Polycom, Inc. [NASDAQ: PLCM], the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communication solutions, is commemorating Fleet Week, an annual celebration honoring the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, by enabling an interactive video program and virtual field trip for youth leaders and sixth graders. Polycom today will host the program from the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, one of the most successful vessels in U.S. Navy history and the site of New York City’s popular Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

To honor the leadership exhibited by America’s sea services, Polycom will host a live presentation by renowned motivational speaker and author Dave Carey, a heavily decorated aircraft carrier pilot and Vietnam War POW. As part of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum’s Youth Leadership Conference, sixth-graders from the Green Vale School in Old Brookville, N.Y., will be aboard the USS Intrepid, where they will interact with Carey as he speaks to them from Austin, Tex., via a high-definition (HD) Polycom telepresence system.

“By equipping schools with video communications systems and supporting interactive programs like this, Polycom is providing tomorrow’s leaders with the tools they need to better understand the world they will inherit,” said Carey, a captain (Ret.) in the U.S. Navy and author of “The Ways We Choose.” “It’s particularly exciting to see how telepresence enables me to share my experiences with more students than ever before.”

Following Carey’s talk, Polycom will host a virtual field trip to the USS Intrepid with sixth graders from Owens Intermediate in Houston, Huron Park Elementary in Roseville, Mich., Hillsboro Elementary in Hillsboro, Texas, and Gatesville Intermediate in Gatesville, Texas. Powered by a Polycom HDX 8000™ Series system, the interactive class will allow students to virtually step inside the storied aircraft carrier and learn about its history and exhibits. The system features Polycom People on Content™, which uses green screen (aka chroma-key) technology to allow the museum’s educational staff to become part of their presentation by displaying static or full-motion content behind them during the video call.

The program also will engage students in exercises that help them learn what it was like to live and serve as part of the USS Intrepid’s “City at Sea.” The Intrepid was first put into service during World War II and was decommissioned in 1974 after serving in the Vietnam War and as a NASA crew and spacecraft recovery vessel. These two events will mark the first of many new video conferencing programs that will be launched in Fall, 2009 by Intrepid’s Education Staff.

“Polycom and its employees believe that part of being a successful company also means being a socially responsible and involved corporate citizen in the global community. Through unique programs such as Polycom’s Collaborations Around the Planet Program, educators can expand and enhance curriculum, provide access to global collaborations, and increase educational equity,” said Roseanne Cohen, federal market director at Polycom. “By powering these collaborative video programs, we hope to encourage creative thought and insights about what it means to serve one’s country, and about the extraordinary sacrifices people like Dave Carey have made for all of us.”

For more information on Polycom’s programs and resources for educators, visit:
www.polycom.com/solutions/industry_solutions/education/programs_resources/index.html

About the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
One of the world’s largest maritime museums, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, is housed aboard the 900-foot-long ESSEX class aircraft carrier Intrepid, which saw service during World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. It also served as a prime recovery vessel for NASA during the Mercury and Gemini space programs before it was retired in 1974. Four years later, Zachary Fisher established the Intrepid Museum Foundation for the sole purpose of “saving the Intrepid for generations to come.” Listed in the National Park Service’s National Historic Landmark register, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum was opened as a symbol of peace and education in August 1982. The Intrepid underwent extensive renovations beginning in 2006 and returned to its home at Pier 86 in October 2008. It has since hosted President George W. Bush for its annual Veterans Day celebration and honored Bill and Hillary Clinton at its annual Intrepid Gala fundraising event. The Intrepid is an event space as well as a museum, and has served as a focal point during New York’s annual Fleet Week celebration. The Intrepid produces a wide range of public programming, and is recognized worldwide as an historic icon that makes history come alive for visitors through its unforgettable series of dynamic and interactive exhibits. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is proudly supported by Bank of America. For more information, visit www.intrepidmuseum.org

About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit www.polycom.com for more information.