WGBH and PBS KIDS Team Up with Story of Stuff’s Annie Leonard on a New Animated Broadband Series for Kids Ages 6-9

WEBISODES AIM TO GET ELEMENTARY-AGE KIDS TO THINK MORE DEEPLY ABOUT THE STUFF IN THEIR LIVES

WGBH and PBS KIDS have teamed up with Annie Leonard on LOOP SCOOPS—a new Web series that brings Story of Stuff’s “think responsibly about the stuff in your life” message to kids, families, and educators. Eight short animated videos show kids how to think more deeply and creatively about the world they live in, and how to make choices based on what they discover. So as kids look upon objects and activities in their daily life, they will begin asking: Where does it come from? What it’s made of? What happens to it when it’s thrown away?

From the producers of ZOOM and FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman, LOOP SCOOPS launches on Monday, October 18th exclusively at pbskids.org/loopscoops. Aimed at 6-to-9 year olds, each of the eight SCOOPS tells the story of an everyday object—a juice box, a magazine, a handheld game device, a glass of orange juice, a pet frog released into a pond, a pile of garbage.

Says WGBH Senior Executive Producer Kate Taylor, “We are really excited that we could produce these videos with the guidance of Annie Leonard. We want to help kids build the mental muscle necessary to ask critical questions about the things they use in their daily lives. We believe that if kids gain an understanding of where the ‘every day stuff’ in their lives comes from and where it goes when they’re done with it, that this will lead them to make good choices that support environmental sustainability, both now and as they grow up.”

Paul Siefken, Director of Children's Programming at PBS adds, “We’re very pleased to be offering LOOP SCOOPS to our elementary-age audience. We have wonderful content for math, science, engineering, literacy, and, with LOOP SCOOPS, we’re now building out our environmental sustainability content. We hope that kids and parents will have a chance to experience the videos together and that they will stimulate conversation.”

Adds Content Director Annie Leonard, “Over the years we have received a number of requests from teachers and parents to develop Story-of-Stuff like content for a younger audience. When I was approached by the WGBH children’s team, because of their reputation for producing fun, smart educational media for kids, I enthusiastically signed on as Content Director for LOOP SCOOPS.”

LOOP SCOOPS Educator Resources
The LOOP SCOOPS are designed to grab kids’ attention and get them thinking more creatively about the world they live in and the choices they make. Educational resources surrounding these videos will give teachers a turn-key way of jump starting a conversation with their students, exploring sustainability, and promoting student inquiry. These resources—which include background materials, teaching tips and lesson plans—will be available at www.teachersdomain.org in late November and will serve as a much-needed contribution to sustainability education for elementary-age children.

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