Posted on February 6th, 2012

Our friends at the Long Center for Performing Arts present Clifford, The Big Red Dog Live! on Sunday, March 4th.  You can buy tickets now on their site, but they have also give KLRU a few passes to give out since  they know our viewers are Clifford’s biggest fans!

Post a comment below about why you and your family watch KLRU. We’ll pick five winners who will each get two tickets to the show. Comments must be posted by Feb. 22.

CLIFFORD, THE BIG RED DOG – LIVE!
SUNDAY, MARCH 4 AT 3PM
Tickets thelongcenter.org
It only takes a little to BE BIG!™ In conjunction with the beloved BIG dog’s 50th anniversary, celebrate the timeless values of Clifford’s BIG Ideas – Share, Play Fair, Have Respect, Work Together, Be Responsible, Be Truthful, Be Kind, Believe In Yourself, Be A Good Friend and Help Others. These sentiments have never been more fun as Clifford and his friends from Birdwell Island – Emily Elizabeth, Cleo and T-Bone – embark on new adventures. With memorable songs and choreography – there will be even more of him to love in this ALL NEW musical – sure to delight the entire family!

Posted on February 5th, 2012

Four new episodes of DINOSAUR TRAIN blow into the schedule for “Weather Week,” Feb. 6-10th.

Buddy and his family learn all about how earthquakes, forest fires, droughts and hurricanes affect animals and the environment.

Don’t panic! Mom, Dad and the Conductor have excellent advice on how to stay safe during a variety of different weather events!

Episodes:

THE EARTHQUAKE/NURSERY CAR
Monday, Feb. 6 & Friday Feb. 10 at 9:30am
Mom takes the kids on a playdate with Tank Triceratops to the desert, where they meet a distant relative of Tank’s, an early Ceratopsian named Penelope Protoceratops. The Conductor points out that Penelope lives in a part of the world that gets a lot of earthquakes, and sure enough, the kids experience their first quake with Penelope. Mom and the Conductor have prepared the kids with excellent advice about what to do in an earthquake, so everyone does fine. When the family rides the Dinosaur Train, they learn that a new car has been added – a Nursery Car, with dozens of eggs in little, padded nests, attended by their expectant moms and dads. The kids watch the eggs hatch, and try to guess which hatchling goes with which dinosaur parent.

THE FOREST FIRE/THE LOST BIRD
Tuesday, Feb.7 at 9:30am
When a forest fire comes to woods not far from the family nest at Pteranodon Terrace, the family takes the Dinosaur Train to visit a nearby area where a fire has already been, and the Conductor leads the kids on a Nature Tracker hike through the woods to see how new life is growing back – even after the forest fire’s devastation. Buddy and Tiny ride the Dinosaur Train for a playdate with their old friend Petey Peteinosaurus, and learn that the train has added a new Aviary Car, for their various flying passengers. Suddenly, they are joined by a lost bird named Judy Jehelornis, who was displaced by the recent forest fires, and can’t remember where her home is. Buddy, Tiny, and Petey act as detectives to figure out from clues where Judy’s home is, and the Conductor makes sure she’s brought safely home on the train.

DRY TIMES AT PTERANODON TERRACE/BIG MISTY SEA
Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 9:30am
When the weather has been extremely dry for several weeks, all the water holes at Pteranodon Terrace dry up. The Lambeosaurus family decides to move away in search of water, which upsets the kids. Dad and Mom decide to take the kids to the Big Pond on a camping trip, where they will wait out the drought and return home when it rains again. Don doesn’t want to leave his home, even temporarily, and decides to perfect a “rain dance” that will make the rain return. Dad learns that he’s been chosen to compete in the big annual Fishing Contest at the Big Misty Sea, and is one of three contestants. The whole family rides there on the Dinosaur Train to cheer Dad on. They learn that the contestants are Dad, the Old Spinosaurus, and Dad’s childhood friend and rival, a huge raptor named Marco Megaraptor. The three all end up fighting over Chester, the legendary biggest fish in the Big Misty Sea.

HURRICANE AT PTERANODON TERRACE/RAFTING THE CRETAC
Thursday, Feb. 9 & Monday, Feb. 13 at 9:30am
The long-awaited rains finally return to Pteranodon Terrace, but grow into a huge rainstorm that grows even bigger – into a hurricane! Dad hasn’t seen it blow like this since he was a kid. They seek shelter, and Don discovers an entrance to a cave below their nest, where not only the Pteranodons, but also their other neighbors, the Lambeorsaurus family and Cindy Cimolestes, all take shelter for the night. In the morning, the storm has passed, but everyone must pitch in to rebuild their various nests. The family is cleaning up the mess left over from the hurricane, and discover that a raft of logs has washed up two refugees from across the Western Interior Sea – a turtle named Aidan Adocus, and a small mammal named Tommy Ptilodus. Our family learns of their adventure, crossing the sea in the storm, and washing up at Pteranodon Terrace. They decide to take their new friends to the Dinosaur Train, and ride back with them to their home in Appalachia.

Posted on January 27th, 2012

This week, KLRU hosted the first of two workshops to explain to middle school students how to create games for the PBS portion of the National Video Game Challenge. We met in a game design class at East Austin College Prep Academy with students, their teachers, Laura Minnigerode of World Wide Workshops, Anne Fertitta of AMD (a fellow national sponsor), Michael Mayrath of GYLO, a local startup in educational gaming, and two guest speakers: Prof. Susan Empson of UT-Austin and Vicki Smith, a national finalist in last year’s Video Game Challenge.

For the competition, students are creating math games that help elementary-age students solidify essential math concepts. We had Prof. Empson, our elementary math expert, and Ms. Smith, our award-winning game designer, help connect mathematical thinking to solid game construction. As part of the workshop, we had students present games in progress and all of our experts then chimed in commentary on how to beef them up for submission.

Our next stop: Travis HS on Tuesday, Jan. 31! If you’d like to help mentor students in their submission, either in person or via distance, contact Ben Kramer at 475-9050 or bkramer@klru.org.

Posted on January 16th, 2012

6th Annual Feria Para Aprender 2012 (Learning Fair)
Saturday, Jan. 28 from 10am-3pm
North Lamar Events Center (10601 N. Lamar Blvd.)

http://feriaparaaprender.com/austin/

Posted on January 7th, 2012

The Food Chain Gang (#130)
Monday, January 16, 4-4:30 p.m.
repeats: Friday, February 2, 4-4:30 p.m.

http://pbskids.org/wildkratts

Aviva wants to build a food web for the African savannah, so she devises a game and Martin and Chris accept her challenge! They will each start as a blade of grass and climb to the top of the food web in a game of “Power Suit Creature Tag.” As they play, the brothers boost their knowledge of the complex relationships between predators and prey as well as the differences between herbivores and carnivores.

Posted on January 6th, 2012

SUPER WHY!
Time Travel Week
January 16-20, 2012

#207 Super WHY and Jasper’s Cowboy Wish
Monday, Jan. 16, 9am (repeats: Friday, Jan. 20, 9am)
Howdy Partner!  Whyatt and his friends are playing cowboys, but Pig can’t join in because he doesn’t know what cowboys do.  The super readers jump into the tale Jasper’s Cowboy Wish and make the acquaintance of a cowpoke named Jasper who’s desperate to become a rompin’ stompin’ cowboy if only he could get the hang of it!  When Jasper must use his cowboy skills to save the day, will he be a hero…or will this be his last roundup?
Educational Objectives: To explore the Old West.  Young viewers will sing the alphabet, practice the magic of spelling, learn what the word saddle means, and use the power to read to change the story.

#208 Super WHY and Baby Dino’s Big Discovery
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 9am (repeats: Monday, Jan. 23, 9am)
ROAR! Pig invited his friends over to play dinosaurs, but Whyatt can’t figure out which toy dinosaur he has.  So he super readers soar into Baby Dino’s Big Discovery where they lend a hand to a baby dinosaur searching for his mommy.  They’ll need to look closely to figure out what kind of dinosaur Baby Dino is…and be careful to avoid being eaten while they do!
Educational Objectives: To learn about dinosaurs, follow the alphabet, rhyme with ANT words, find out what the words “herbivore” and “carnivore” mean, and use the power to read to change the story.

#209 Super WHY and Princess Gwennie Saves the Day
Wednesday, Jan. 18, 9am (repeats: Saturday, Jan. 21 & Tuesday, Jan. 24, 9am)
Princess Pea is feeling dramatic (as usual) and she and Red are staging a play. Princess is pretending she’s a queen but Red doesn’t know what to be!  The super readers fly into the story of a princess with a silly sense of humor and a big job to do.  They help Gwennie use her talents to save the day, and Red discovers her own special gifts.
Educational Objectives: To learn about medieval times.  Kids will sing the alphabet, practice the magic of spelling,  learn what the word “harp” means and use the power to read to change the story.

#210 Super WHY and The Great Robot Race
Thursday, Jan. 19, 9am (repeats: Wednesday, Jan. 25 & Saturday, Jan. 28, 9am)
Ready…steady…splat!  Whyatt and his puppy want to win the porridge race, but the bowl of breakfast cereal keeps falling off the puppy’s back.  This is a super MESSY problem!  The reading friends visit The Great Robot Race and encounter a boy named Bradbury who is determined to help his robo-doggie to win a race too!  Both Bradbury and the super readers will have to use a little creative problem solving to help robo-doggie zoom to the head of the pack!
Educational Objectives: To learn about innovation, experiment with the alphabet and rhyme with ING words. Preschoolers will also learn what the word “fins” means and use the power to read to change the story.

Posted on January 3rd, 2012

The new year is a time for resolutions and for many of us that includes a renewed commitment to exercise and healthy eating. Sid the Science Kid premieres “Get Up and Move!” this January, a special episode designed to motivate kids to run and play outside and make healthy food choices.

Sid the Science Kid
“Get Up and Move!”

A Special Episode on Exercise and Healthy Eating
Premieres Friday, January 6, 10am
(repeats Monday, January 16 & Thursday, February 9, 10am)

Sid is super excited, because teacher Susie announced that today is full of surprises-healthy surprises! First the class walks to a local park where they get to run around and play outside in the fresh air! Susie teaches the kids how to do yoga, and when it’s snack time, the kids get another special surprise-they get to pick fresh vegetables from a community garden! Yum! Next, Susie teaches the kids her favorite childhood game-Red Light, Green Light! It’s a great way to move your body, and it’s fun! Back home, Sid tells his Mom about his amazing day, and Mom is inspired to plant a garden in the backyard. Sid then comes up with a new family tradition-taking a walk every day together! It’s easy to do and it’s a fun, healthy way to move your body!

Downloadable activity sheets

Sid the Science Kid Healthy Food Activity Sheet (PDF)
Sid the Science Walking Coloring Sheet (PDF)

Posted on December 19th, 2011

KLRU  has partnered with the United Way Success By 6, Southeast Austin Community Branch Library and Any Baby Can to bring those in the Dove Springs Community an eight-week Play & Learn family workshop.

Play & Learn details

–Niños entre los 2 y los 3 años de edad y sus padres gozarán con canciones, cuentos, meriendas y juegos con amigos.

–Todas las actividades serán en inglés y en español y te ayudarán a tí y a tu niño o niña a prepararse para que tengan éxito en la escuela.

–Después de cada sesión, todas las familias recibirán un libro gratis, actividades para hacer en casa y una tarjeta de regalo de $5.00.

–El programa es GRATIS pero el espacio es limitado.

Para inscribirte por favor llama a la sucursal de Southeast, 5803 Nuckols Crossing Rd., (512) 974-8840

Al inscribirte te estás comprometiendo a participar en las 8 semanas completas.

Posted on December 9th, 2011

National contest challenges students and professionals

Austin, TX — KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, is one of 12 stations nationwide chosen to participate in the National STEM Video Game Challenge grant. KLRU will bring local middle school and high school students together with game developer mentors and education experts to create new games to compete in this national contest.

Inspired by the Educate to Innovate Campaign, President Obama’s initiative to promote a renewed focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, the National STEM Video Game Challenge is a multi-year competition whose goal is to motivate interest in STEM learning among America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games.

In early 2012, KLRU will bring mentors from Austin’s vibrant gaming community together with youth from one area middle school and one high school. The teams of students will work to create games to be entered into the national contest. KLRU will also document the creative process on the station’s blog. Game developers who would like to participate in the mentoring project should contact KLRU at 471-4811.

The National STEM Video Game Challenge has four categories — Middle School, High School, Collegiate, Educators — and is open to any U.S. citizen or legal U.S. resident  To participate in the challenge as an individual or a non-KLRU team, please see the rules and guidelines for each level on the competition’s website at stemchallenge.org. Deadline to enter is March 12.

About KLRU:
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, presents quality multimedia content that engages people in the thoughtful exchange of ideas, the expression of the arts, and enjoyable lifelong learning opportunities, resulting in a more vibrant community and a higher quality of life. In addition to providing locally produced and quality national television programming, KLRU is also a non-profit organization helping to build a stronger community through educational workshops, community engagement projects and public events. Known as the producing station of the longest-running live music television show AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, KLRU has also worked on several other national productions including OVERHEAD WITH EVAN SMITH and documentaries like CITIZEN ARCHITECT and LAST BEST HOPE. Get more information about KLRU at klru.org.

Posted on December 1st, 2011

SID THE SCIENCE KID

Premieres Technology & Engineering Week
Dec. 5-9, 10-10:30am