Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Keep the Children Entertained During Thanksgiving Dinner Preparation

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow morning, WSBE is the child-safe place for your children to be - where they will be entertained and out from under your feet while the adults prepare dinner.

Starting at 7 A.M., we'll air two back-to-back specials: Curious George: Follow That Monkey, and Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas. The marvelous multiple monkeyshines will be repeated Friday morning starting at 8:30 A.M.

Video Preview of Curious George: Follow That Monkey (Please disregard the date at the end of the video; we're airing the movie on Thanksgiving morning and Friday, too.)




Then, it's Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas at 8:30 A.M., the heartwarming story of George and the Man with the Yellow Hat as they celebrate the season together.


Friday, June 17, 2011

Member Day at the Providence Children's Museum 6/28/11

Members Day! Members of Rhode Island PBS and RI PBS Kids Club can enjoy exploring, playing, and learning at the Providence Children's Museum on South Street all day long on Tuesday, June 28. For free admission during regular museum hours (9 a.m. - 6 p.m.), simply present your valid* Rhode Island PBS member card, or your child's valid RI PBS Kids Club member medallion.

It's just another way we show our appreciation for your membership and support of WSBE Rhode Island PBS!

*If your membership has lapsed, please contact our Membership department or renew online.

'Catch the Science Bug' earns Parents' Choice Silver Award

Catch the Science Bug Series Wins Parents' Choice Silver Award!

We received this wonderful announcement from the show's executive producer / series host / scientist-in-chief, Kim Bent, who lives in nearby Massachusetts. Congratulations to Kim and the Catch the Science Bug team!

If you are not yet familiar with the show, this news comes at an especially opportune time: you can Catch the Science Bug on WSBE Rhode Island PBS this Sunday, June 19, at 10:30 a.m. The episode is "Water Purification" and shows how water leaving a reservoir is cleaned to become drinking water. Next Sunday, June 26, at 10:30 a.m., "Engineering Enigmas" visits seven engineers to find out how a chip used in electronics is made.

Here are links for more information about the series, events, and science camps, or to contact Kim:


Catch the Science Bug Foundation, Inc.
Free educational website: www.sciencebug.org
Traveling science programs: www.catchthesciencebug.com
PO BOX 321, Holden, MA 01520
508-854-1681

Established in 1978, Parents' Choice is the nation's oldest nonprofit guide to quality children's media and toys. Here is the award announcement and show review:
Catch the Science Bug
Spring 2011 Television
Ages: 6 - 9 yrs.
Producer: Catch the Science Bug Foundation, Inc.
Rating: TV - Y

Review:
No longer just a Punch Buggy, the iconic Volkswagen gets an image re-haul through this quirky, fun and educational show. Host Kim Bent travels around in her green, polka-dotted "science bug" testing theories, performing experiments and sparking interest in all things scientific. Aimed at the younger spectrum of viewers, the show does an excellent job of using and defining scientific vocabulary, sequencing procedures and offering fun examples of problem solving. For instance, in an episode about a boat racing, Bent tests different designs to see which floats best. Through easy experiments that can be duplicated at home, kids and parents can see the Archimedes Principle at work. (Any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid). All that's needed is a blow up pool, some tin foil and marbles. Because these principles are presented in fun, hands-on situations, it gets kids thinking in scientific ways-even if they don't know it. How does water go from a reservoir to our drinking glasses? How many gallons does it take to do simple household chores? Through interviews and experiments, kids also get great visual images of how and why things work. Who could forget the sight of grown men trying to row across water in giant, carved pumpkins or whole families rowing on cardboard box boats? Overall, the show offers many reasons for viewers to catch the science bug.
- Laura Fries ©2011 Parents' Choice
A freelance writer and TV Critic for Daily Variety, Laura Fries has been writing about television and film entertainment for more than eighteen years. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alexandria, Virginia.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Hop to the Call - FrogWatch at Roger Williams Park Zoo

This came across the news desk this morning, and I'd like to share it with you. No matter what your opinion is about the validity of "global warming," the bottom line is we are witnessing dramatic changes in weather and environment, and alarming rate of disruption or disappearance of important insects, birds, fish, and - as in this story - frogs! Here's one way for your child and you to be more informed, more involved, and have a fun learning experience. - Ms. Lucie


Providence, RI – Roger Williams Park Zoo is seeking volunteer “citizen scientists” to participate in the fourth season of its state-wide FrogWatch USA program. Program volunteers attend a training that discusses the importance of amphibians in the environment, how to tell the frog species apart by their calls and how monitoring our local population helps to protect them. Volunteers commit to monitoring a local amphibian habitat (such as a pond or lake) and collecting data on what they hear, approximately once a week for about 15 minutes.

Amphibian species are disappearing at an alarming rate across the globe due to a number of factors such as habitat loss, pollution, and disease. This has led to what many conservationists call a global amphibian crisis, with one third to one half of all amphibian species facing possible extinction.

Though there don’t appear to be any immediate threats to the species found locally in New England, the monitoring and data collected through the FrogWatch program will help conservationists to keep tabs on these populations and react to any decline much more quickly.

“Amphibians act as an important indicator species for healthy environments and are a vital part of the food chain, making up the diet of many other species; some that rely on amphibians as a sole source of food,” said Lou Perrotti, Director of Conservation Programs at the Zoo.

“Without amphibians, insect populations could grow out of control and potentially spread disease that could threaten human populations and agriculture. The loss of the entire class of amphibians would have a catastrophic effect on the ecosystem. FrogWatch is an easy, enjoyable way for people who have an interest in amphibians and the environment to help.”

The Zoo is holding volunteer training sessions for the program on February 27 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., March 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and April 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. To attend a training session and become a FrogWatch USA volunteer, contact Gerry Dichiara, at gdichiara@rwpzoo.org or 401-785-3510 x358.

Data collected in Rhode Island will be added to a national FrogWatch USA database, and will also be shared with the Rhode Island Natural History Survey. In 2010 Roger Williams Park Zoo trained over 89 volunteers who monitored 70 sites across all 5 counties in Rhode Island.

For more information about the FrogWatch USA program at Roger Williams Park Zoo, and about the global amphibian crisis, visit the Zoo’s website, www.rwpzoo.org, and click on “conservation.”

Welcome!

Hi, everyone! Welcome to the RI PBS Kids Club Blog. I'm Ms. Lucie, one of the writers for the blog. We at WSBE Rhode Island PBS are looking forward to having a conversation with you - many conversations, actually!

You can post your comments here under any number of name IDs you may already have - or even post anonymously. We want to hear from you, so we made this as easy as we could. If you have a very specific or confidential question or comment, feel free to contact us through email links on the RI PBS Kids Club Web site (www.ripbs.org/kids) or the regular Rhode Island PBS Web site (ww.ripbs.org/reach_us.html).



Rhode Island PBS Kids Club Calendar

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