The Celebration Kicks-Off With a Full Week of All New
IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD Episodes April 16-20
Kids Can Learn About Creative Ways to Care for the Earth On-Air and Online at pbskids.org and pbskidsgo.org
Parents and Teachers Can Extend the Learning with Resources Available on
PBS Parents and PBS Teachers and Through Local Community Outreach Programs
(March 13, 2007, Arlington, VA) - PBS KIDS is celebrating the Earth with "PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day," a special programming and online event on Friday, April 20 (check local listings). The celebration kicks-off April 16 with a full week of all new IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD episodes leading up to the event. Online, families will find games and activities for preschoolers and early elementary school kids to extend the learning at pbskids.org and pbskidsgo.org, as well as resources and suggestions for parents and teachers to help children become more involved with nature and understand how they can care for the environment at PBS Parents and PBS Teachers.
On April 20, Miss Lori and Hooper will help kids discover ways to protect the planet through recycling in the PBS KIDS preschool block. Earth Day-themed episodes from CURIOUS GEORGE, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, DRAGON TALES and IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD will air alongside themed music videos from the award-winning kids' rock band, Milkshake.
In addition to the preschool block, PBS KIDS GO!sm celebrates Earth Day with themed programming from ARTHUR, MAYA & MIGUEL, FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN and CYBERCHASE. Throughout the late afternoon programming block, early elementary school kids will find creative ideas to take care of the environment by recycling, cleaning up their neighborhoods and more.
Online, pbskids.org and pbskidsgo.org will feature games and activities that inspire kids to think about how they can contribute by building good environmental habits. For example, the MAYA & MIGUEL Web site (pbskidsgo.org/mayaandmiguel) will ask kids what they would do to help the Earth as part of the site's "Tell-Us-Vision" feature and show a video clip from the series' "Every Day is Earth Day" episode. Other PBS KIDS GO! sites for early elementary school kids, such as EekoWorld (pbskidsgo.org/eekoworld) and Backyard Jungle (pbskidsgo.org/backyardjungle), encourage kids to understand the critical role they can play in taking care of the Earth. Kids will also be able to listen to the PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day songs performed by Milkshake at pbskids.org.
To help parents connect these lessons back to kids' daily lives, PBS Parents (pbsparents.org) will offer ideas, resources and activities for parents to share with their children and encourage them to spend more time exploring nature and take an active role in protecting the planet. PBS Parents Earth Day features include an expert Q&A with Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder," as well as an article about the benefits of kids interacting with nature.
The newly launched PBS Teachers site (pbs.org/teachers), PBS' portal for preK-12 educators, will feature Earth Day content for educators through its "Media Infusion" blog (pbs.org/teachers/mediainfusion). "Media Infusion" showcases ideas for, and encourages conversations about, using media and technology in the classroom. Throughout the month of April, the blog will celebrate Earth Day with Anthony Augustin, an environmental science teacher who will discuss methods for teaching the subject to grades 3-12.
Several PBS member stations across the country are also celebrating Earth Day within their communities. Through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, various recipient PBS member stations are hosting events that teach children and their families how to create art made from recycled paper, about the needs of rescued wild animals, and the importance of conservation, to name a few. For example, KETC in St. Louis, Missouri is partnering with the Missouri Botanical Gardens for a family festival where participants will use paper that has been recycled since the start of the project in January to create "nature art." KAET in Phoenix, Arizona is hosting a special Earth Day event at the Prescott Heritage Park Zoo, where the Zoo's Educational Curator will present an educational program for the children to show the necessity of taking care of the environment as well as display the animals that benefit from this care. Contact your local station to learn more about events in your area.
PBS KIDS Episodes for April 20 (check local listings):
CURIOUS GEORGE #127 "The All-Animal Recycled Band/The Times of Sand"
"The All-Animal Recycled Band" -- George recruits Charkie, Gnocchi, Hundley and Compass to play in a band inspired by the firefighters at Rescue Squad 86.
"The Times of Sand" -- George and The Man with the Yellow Hat have a sand castle building contest at the beach.
CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG #131 "Doggie Garden/Captain Birdwell's Treasure"
It's "Keep Birdwell Beautiful" month and the kids are doing their part by planting a flower garden. Seeing this, the dogs decide to create a doggie flower garden of their own. But when Cleo hears that almost anything grows in Birdwell Island soil, she decides she'd much rather grow a garden full of dog toys! In the second story, Clifford and his dog friends find the long-lost trunk of Captain Birdwell, filled with wonderful items brought to the Island by the explorer long ago.
DRAGON TALES #326 "Green Thumbs / Hand In Hand"
"Green Thumbs" -- Following a torrential storm, the gang discovers Lily, a baby flower, helplessly floating downstream after being uprooted by the rain. They learn that she was separated from her family and misses them dearly. The gang knows that she's too little to take care of herself, and they use what they know to plant her in a bucket of soil and promise to take her back to where she belongs.
"Hand In Hand" -- Max and Emmy can't seem to agree on anything! Their constant arguing upsets Enrique, who makes a wish on a magical wishing well for Max and Emmy to stop arguing and become closer. Enrique rejoins the group to find Max and Emmy holding hands - what he doesn't realize is that they are stuck together!
*NEW* IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD #136 "Sleepover/The Disappearing Waterhole"
"Sleepover" -- When Wartz hears that a storm is coming, he feels too nervous to go to a sleepover at Smooch and Winslow's hut. After Oko reminds Wartz that everyone gets scared sometimes and Snook explains what causes lighting and thunder, Wartz decides to go after all.
"The Disappearing Waterhole" -- Winslow and Bob stop by the waterhole to get a drink, but Ick stops them and says that no one is allowed to have any of the water. The pair discover that Ick is worried that all of the water in the waterhole will disappear. Snook calms Ick down and everyone learns something when Snook explains evaporation and the water cycle.
PBS KIDS GO! Episodes for April 20 (check local listings):
ARTHUR #904 "Buster's Green Thumb/My Fair Tommy"
"Buster's Green Thumb" -- Buster finds out that his collection of old food makes excellent compost - which makes for even better tomatoes! But he's dismayed when he runs out of fresh vegetables to give away until his new friend, who runs the community garden, shows him what it takes to grow and care for his own plants.
"My Fair Tommy" -- Neither of the Tibble twins has ever won the coveted "Good Behavior of the Week" cupcake award. When Tommy sets his sights on getting the prize, can D.W. show him how it's done, or will Timmy stand in his way?
CYBERCHASE #504 "EcoHaven Ooze"
When Hacker discovers that the liquid ooze that feeds the animals of EcoHaven also gives him a super energy boost, he decides to drain the pond and take the ooze home. He builds a fort around the pond, so the CyberSquad must figure out a way to get in without being noticed. They take inspiration from the Greek myth of the Trojan Horse and build a giant "Trojan Ducky." After testing a model of their invention to be sure it works, they hide inside the duck, and fool Delete into taking them to Hacker. But how will they stop Hacker's nefarious plot?
FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN #112 "That Doesn't Float My Boat"
Trying to relieve a bad case of "Game Show Host Block," Ruff has fallen asleep and left the water in the bathtub running! The flooded doghouse is filled with floating junk, giving him the perfect idea for today's challenge: Khalil, Anna, and Julia, must design a boat out of materials they find at the dump. Their boat has to float; it has to be stable and steer-able; and it has to be propelled by something other than oars.
MAYA & MIGUEL #163 "Every Day Is Earth Day"
"Every Day Is Earth Day" -- For a school Earth Day project, the kids decide to clean up an old lot and plant a community garden. But as the deadline approaches, a rainstorm hits, turning the patch of dirt into a muddy mess. How will Maya get her friends out of the muck this time?
About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!
PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, are committed to providing the highest quality non-commercial content and learning environment for children across the country. Providing age-appropriate, diverse programming for kids, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. Only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. With additional PBS resources to complement its programming, including PBS KIDS online (www.pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (www.pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (www.pbsparents.org), PBS TeacherSource (www.pbsteachersource.org), PBS Ready To Learn services and literacy events across the country, PBS is providing the tools necessary for positive child development. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 355 public television stations, serving nearly 90 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.
CONTACTS:
Jill Corderman, 703.739.5788, jcorderman@pbs.org
Alan Winnikoff, 212.679.2982, alan@sayleswinnikoff.com
Carina Sayles, 609.397.6200, carina@sayleswinnikoff.com