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WOUB to Hold Virtual Premiere Screening of New PBS Kids Program


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ELINOR WONDERS WHY is geared toward preschool aged children

ATHENS, OH – WOUB Public Media’s Learning Lab is going to hold a virtual premiere screening of the new PBS Kids program ELINOR WONDERS WHY. The program is geared toward children who are in preschool (3 to 5 years old). The event is FREE and will be held on September 3 at 10 a.m. You can RSVP for the screening here: https://www.learninglab.woub.org/elinor-wonders-why. Those who pre-register will receive gifts from Elinor and PBS Kids. 

ELINOR WONDERS WHY aims to encourage children to follow their curiosity, ask questions when they don’t understand and find answers using science inquiry skills. The main character Elinor, the most observant and curious bunny rabbit in Animal Town, will introduce kids to science, nature and community through adventures with her friends.

“We are very excited about this program for children in our region and decided to hold a virtual event so we could introduce the show to them in a safe way during the pandemic,” said WOUB Educational Services Manager Deborah Brewer.

The program will premiere on WOUB HD on September 7 at 10:30 a.m. and play again at 1:30 p.m.

“Kids love to ask questions about how the world works,” said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS. “That’s what makes ELINOR WONDERS WHY such a perfect show for preschoolers. Kids will recognize themselves in Elinor’s boundless curiosity as she pursues the questions she wonders about – making observations and reveling in nature’s amazing answers.”

The stories in ELINOR WONDERS WHY center around Elinor and her friends Ari, a funny and imaginative bat, and Olive, a perceptive and warm elephant. As kids explore Animal Town, they will meet all kinds of interesting, funny, and quirky characters, each with something to teach us about respecting others, the importance of diversity, caring for the environment and working together to solve problems. In each episode, Elinor models the foundational practices of science inquiry and engineering design — including her amazing powers of observation and willingness to ask questions and investigate. When she encounters something she doesn’t understand, like why birds have feathers or how tiny ants build massive anthills, she just can’t let it go until she figures it out. And in discovering the answers, Elinor often learns something about nature’s ingenious inventions and how they can connect to ideas in our designed world, and what it takes to live in a community. ELINOR WONDERS WHY encourages children and parents to ask their own questions and experience the joy of discovery and understanding together.

ELINOR WONDERS WHY comes to PBS KIDS from co-creators Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. Cham is the cartoonist behind the popular online comic “Piled Higher and Deeper” (a.k.a. PHD Comics). He holds a PhD in Robotics from Stanford University and is a former Instructor and Research Associate at Caltech. Whiteson is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. He earned his PhD in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley and is an active researcher, using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN to search for exotic new particles. The two have collaborated on several projects aimed at exploring science-related questions with humor, including a book (“We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe”) and a podcast (“Daniel & Jorge Explain the Universe”).

ELINOR WONDERS WHY was developed as part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS Ready To Learn Initiative with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The Ready To Learn Initiative is a federal program that supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted to preschool and early elementary school children and their families.

About PBS KIDS 
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children’s learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school readiness and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.

About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe for email updates.