In Texas we know all about the cowboy. After all, he was born here, right? “Oh, the cowboy is much older than Texas,” says Janet Kelly ’75 (MAT), associate professor of education.

Kelly, a Texas native and horsewoman, discovered a lot about cowboy culture recently when she wrote the teacher’s resource guide for the IMAX film “Ride Around the World.” The film premiered at the Fort Worth Museum Omni Theater in May, and it will run until Oct. 1.

Opening this summer in museums from San Antonio to Seattle, “Ride” is a sweeping film about the global cowboy, covering 1,500 years of cowboy history and culture. Dramatic visuals include footage shot in Morocco and Argentina, Mexico, Texas and Canada. But Kelly’s guide begins when the footage ends — back in the elementary and middle school classroom.

“Teachers are so busy teaching that they don’t have time to do all the research and come up with activities that can help them explore a film like this,” she said. To make the facts come to life, Kelly devised cowboy anagrams, cryptograms, map games, crosswords and math puzzles. She found riddles, recipes (beef jerky or buttermilk biscuits anyone?) and songs, all related to life on the range.

Kelly follows the film’s progression with background information and learning activities that hew to national social studies standards as well as offer math, science and English/language arts fun.