Thursday
Feb042010
Digging America
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 12:54PM
Hey, can your kids find North America on a map? How about the U.S.? Los Angeles?
Lots and lots of kids can't. When I was in the seventh grade, I had a lovely history-geography teacher who really liked memorization, and at one point I could recite all the countries in Africa and their capital cities. Sure, that has made me a winner at Trivial Pursuit, but I'm not sure I could've told anyone any other relevant or interesting fact about the otherwise fascinating continent.
The folks behind PBS recognized the inherent lack of general knowledge that our children possess when it comes to geography, says Halle Stanford, Executive VP of Children's Entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. They also recognize that children are receiving their media messages in small "bytes" and from different sources. Enter Wilson and Ditch, two goofy gopher brothers who drive onto PBS Kids Go!, delivering a lively, Web-exclusive series that also traverses America.
The "GoBros" travel to a number of major and off-the-beaten-path destinations and are brought to life on your laptop by the voices of Brian Henson (son of Kermit the Frog, a.k.a. the late Jim Henson) and Paul Rugg. Like its PBS cousin Sid the Science Kid, the characters are animated through the magic of "digital puppetry" from The Jim Henson Company (from the historic Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood). These short Webisodes take early-elementary-age kids to places like Philadelphia and the Grand Canyon where they learn cool facts and can play games, read blogs and comics, check out podcasts and learn about local food and other fun facts.
The show helps instill an appreciation of American culture, history and geography, but kids will also identify with Wilson's homesickness and Ditch's silliness. And chances are, you'll "dig" these two gopher brothers in a van, too.
Here's a glimpse:
Lots and lots of kids can't. When I was in the seventh grade, I had a lovely history-geography teacher who really liked memorization, and at one point I could recite all the countries in Africa and their capital cities. Sure, that has made me a winner at Trivial Pursuit, but I'm not sure I could've told anyone any other relevant or interesting fact about the otherwise fascinating continent.
The folks behind PBS recognized the inherent lack of general knowledge that our children possess when it comes to geography, says Halle Stanford, Executive VP of Children's Entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. They also recognize that children are receiving their media messages in small "bytes" and from different sources. Enter Wilson and Ditch, two goofy gopher brothers who drive onto PBS Kids Go!, delivering a lively, Web-exclusive series that also traverses America.
The "GoBros" travel to a number of major and off-the-beaten-path destinations and are brought to life on your laptop by the voices of Brian Henson (son of Kermit the Frog, a.k.a. the late Jim Henson) and Paul Rugg. Like its PBS cousin Sid the Science Kid, the characters are animated through the magic of "digital puppetry" from The Jim Henson Company (from the historic Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood). These short Webisodes take early-elementary-age kids to places like Philadelphia and the Grand Canyon where they learn cool facts and can play games, read blogs and comics, check out podcasts and learn about local food and other fun facts.
The show helps instill an appreciation of American culture, history and geography, but kids will also identify with Wilson's homesickness and Ditch's silliness. And chances are, you'll "dig" these two gopher brothers in a van, too.
Here's a glimpse:
