Arthur
Opening Young Minds
Once again, WGBH's own Arthur ranked among the top-rated children's shows on any broadcast or cable channel in 2005. And four-year-old Georgina "Gigi" Anderson is one of the beloved aardvark's most enthusiastic fans. Gigi and her parents, David and Ana Anderson, watch the program every morning in their Brookline home as they prepare to head out for the day: Gigi to preschool, her parents to Harvard Medical School, where they are research scientists. Father and daughter often discuss situations they've just seen unfold on screen, which David describes as "scenarios that take place in every child's life, so they're easy for kids to understand and learn from." Arthur, he says, "teaches Gigi valuable lessons without being moralistic or preachy. I like to think Arthur will have an impact on the way life ultimately treats Gigi, and the way she treats others, as she makes her way in the world."
Stories "To Go"
Rhode Island gardener Darcy Magrattan takes along WGBH's Morning Stories with Tony Kahn when she mixes the soil. "Jamestown is a small island on the edge of things," she says, "and having Morning Stories on my iPod keeps me from falling off!" WGBH Radio's Stories, along with Nova ScienceNow, Nova's Einstein's Big Idea, and The World's "Tech Report," all were among the Top-20 podcasts on iTunes (Apple's audio download service) in 2005.
Science for Kids
Peep and the Big Wide World, WGBH's Emmy Award-winning science literacy series, teaches very young children to explore their world. "My son can't wait to try out the experiments he sees on the show," says the parent of an energetic five year old. "That doesn't happen with other cartoons!"
Teachers' Aids
Teachers' Domain is a two-tiered educational service with free WGBH multimedia resources for busy teachers to use in their classrooms, and related fee-based professional development courses to help educators teach science more effectively and inspire their students. "Many of my students are visual learners," a New York elementary school teacher writes, "and the great visuals available on Teachers' Domain are an incredible help." Some 55,000 educators currently use the service (teachersdomain.org), with more registering every month.
Drive-Time News
Savvy citizens in a post 9/11 world, increasingly eager for international perspective, are responding enthusiastically to WGBH 89.7's expanded news service. In particular, listeners say, the additional hour of NPR's Morning Edition with field reports from respected correspondents like Renée Montagne, "helps finesse the morning transition from home to office."
