SID the SCIENCE KID Backgrounders
The Jim Henson Company Backgrounder
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and computer graphics. Best known as creators of the world-famous Muppets (the rights to which are now owned by The Walt Disney Company), Henson is the recipient of over 50 Emmy® Awards and nine Grammy® Awards. Credits include the Saturn Award- winning "Farscape" and the features "MirrorMask," "Five Children and It," "Good Boy!" and the recently released direct-to-DVD feature "Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby."
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post-production facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry's top recording facilities, known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment.
The Company is currently in production on 40 episodes of "Sid the Science Kid," a new science readiness animated series for preschoolers scheduled to debut on PBS KIDS® in September 2008, and recently launched "Puppet Up! - Uncensored," a live puppet improvisational show that has played to sold out crowds around the world and premiered as a special on TBS. The Company has also announced the creation of Jim Henson Designs, a merchandise collection inspired by Jim Henson's earliest sketches. http://www.henson.com
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First 5 California Backgrounder
First 5 California (also known as the California Children and Families Commission) was established after voters passed Proposition 10 in November 1998, adding a 50 cents- per-pack tax on cigarettes to fund education, health, childcare and other programs for expectant parents and children up to age 5. Prop. 10 was designed to address the lack of public funding and support for early childhood development in the wake of a growing body of scientific evidence indicating that the emotional, physical, social and developmental environments to which children are exposed have a profound impact on their ability to reach their greatest potential in school and to become productive members of society. For more information, visit first5california.com.
### KCET Backgrounder
KCET, the West Coast flagship station of PBS, is public television for Southern and Central California. KCET is watched by four million viewers a month in 11 counties, the largest broadcast reach of any public television station in the United States. National PBS series produced from the station’s Hollywood studios include three-time NAACP Award winner TAVIS SMILEY and the Peabody Award-winning series A PLACE OF OUR OWN and LOS NIÑOS EN SU CASA, series for caregivers of young children. SID THE SCIENCE KID, a new series co-produced for PBS KIDS® by KCET and The Jim Henson Company, premieres September 1, 2008.
Other KCET productions for PBS have included SCHOOL: THE STORY OF AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, narrated by Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep; AMERICAN FAMILY, the first primetime drama to feature an all-Hispanic cast; THE FIRST YEAR, a documentary about five beginning teachers in the Los Angeles public school system; STORYTIME, a series aimed at getting young children interested in stories and books; and PUZZLE PLACE, a single comedy/drama storyline featuring a multiethnic cast of puppets who helped children learn about sharing, decision making, and other daily encounters in a child’s life.
Throughout its more than 40-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children’s programs, its outreach and community services, and its Web site, kcet.org. KCET is donor-supported community television. More than half of the funds raised to support KCET’s operating budget come from individual support. For additional information about KCET productions, Web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit www.kcet.org.
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FableVision Backgrounder
Founded in 1996 by identical twin brothers Peter and Paul Reynolds, FableVision (www.fablevision.com) is an educational media company on a 200-year mission to bring the world to a better place through media, storytelling and technology. FableVision’s product line, available for schools and home, encourages individualized learning to help all learners reach their full potential. Meanwhile, FableVision’s studio works with partners to help them achieve their goals of engaging end-users through meaningful media. FableVision’s goal to engage the learner and nurture life-long learning – not just a fleeting moment at a kiosk or a click through a website – is achieved through creative designs that spark the joy of learning and authentic understanding.
With new headquarters at The Boston Children's Museum in Boston, and offices in Dedham, Massachusetts, Portland, Oregon and London, the FableVision team enjoys an international reputation. FableVision’s partnership roster includes WGBH, Maryland Public Television, KCET/Los Angeles, Nickelodeon/Noggin, PBS, Sesame Workshop, Discovery, National Geographic, the Jim Henson Company, Pearson Education, Scott- Foresman, Scholastic, Candlewick Press, Dutton, Penguin-Putnam, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, Thomson, learning.com, Knowledge Adventure, MIT Education Arcade, The Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), EDC, and numerous other educational, cultural and communications organizations.
FableVision’s own educational products, The North Star, Get a Clue, BrainCogs, Essay Express and Stationery Studio®, have won many industry awards, including the ALA/ALSC 2006 Notable Software Award, 2006 Parent’s Choice Recommendation, 2005 Carnegie Medal of Excellence, Scholastic’s Instructor Magazine— Best Product List, 2003, and the Children’s Software & New Media Revue Award—Best of 2003.
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PBS KIDS® Backgrounder
PBS KIDS is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children through curriculum-based entertainment. With a 360-degree approach towards learning and reaching children, PBS KIDS leverages the full spectrum of media and technology advancements as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. PBS KIDS encourages children to interact as respectful citizens in a diverse society. By involving parents, teachers and caregivers as learning partners, PBS KIDS helps to empower children for success in school and in life. PBS’ bottom line is measured by how much it contributes to the welfare of America’s children.
Providing the highest-quality programming and learning environment for children, PBS’ children’s programs invite kids on a journey to explore the world around them with non-violent, age-appropriate content that offers positive role models for children to learn from and grow with. The series’ characters emulate good behavior towards one another and demonstrate respect and tolerance towards family members, peers and other individuals.
As a longtime advocate of positive, healthy development among children, PBS KIDS understands the value of physical activity and smart eating and features series, role models and episodes that share this message. This summer, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! invite children on the PBS KIDS Summer Road Trip to Health with a destination all about being engaged and healthy. Throughout the summer, kids can fuel their minds and bodies with health-themed episodes and online activities learning how their favorite character role models in ten different series live healthy and smart. Kicking off the virtual trip with some new tunes, Arthur, WORDGIRL’s Captain Huggyface and others joined in an exclusive new music video entitled “Get Up and Go” featuring music by famed rock band, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. And with parents at the wheel, PBSParents.org is supporting their role with more popular health content and resources around their child’s well-being and development.
In addition, PBS KIDS launched a partnership with Produce for Kids® in October 2007 to promote healthy eating and smart food choices through the numerous benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. The supermarket-based educational campaign encourages children to “Eat Smart for a Great Start,” and features resources and activities on pbskids.org and PBS Parents.
Only PBS has earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS’ children’s programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. The year 2008 marked the eleventh consecutive year that PBS earned more Daytime Emmys for its children’s programming than any other broadcast or cable network. SESAME STREET has now won a total of 118 Daytime Emmys, more than any other program in the history of the Emmy® competition. CURIOUS GEORGE was recognized as the Outstanding Children’s Animated Program of 2008.
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CONTACTS: Jill Corderman, 703/739-5788; jcorderman@pbs.org Jake Landis, 703/739-5362; [email protected]
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July 2008