Highlights Archive

Splash and Bubbles: Songs, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Splash and Bubbles: https://pbskids.org/splashandbubbles

Dive in and follow the adventures of Splash, a yellowback fusilier fish who has swum all over the ocean before settling in Reeftown in the preschool series “Splash and Bubbles!” There he befriends Bubbles, a Mandarin dragonet whose vivid coloring matches her personality. Together, Splash and Bubbles explore the world’s undersea habitats, make new friends, and learn about the many different ways life looks and lives in the ocean — celebrating the importance of diversity along the way.

WXXI Favorite Activities:

Activity: Join the Reeftown Rangers
Activity: Ways to Explore the Ocean No Matter Where You Live
Activity: Make a Bubble Bottle Fish
Online Game: Play the game: Help Our Kelp or Sand Art Spectacular
Online Game: Fintastic Fish Maker

Activity: Make an Upcycled Jellyfish

See Games, Activities and Videos from the Splash and Bubbles Series at PBS KIDS

Learn more about the series, articles, activities and games at PBS KIDS for Parents: Splash and Bubbles Show Page

Splash and Bubbles Videos Playlist

Nature Cat: Songs, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Nature Cat on https://pbskids.org/naturecat

“Nature Cat,” a series for children ages 3 to 7, follows Fred, a house cat who dreams of exploring the great outdoors. Once his family leaves for the day, Fred transforms into Nature Cat: “backyard explorer extraordinaire!” He can’t wait to get outside for a day of nature adventures and bravery! There’s just one problem: he’s still a house cat with no instincts for nature! With the help of his animal friends, Nature Cat goes on action-packed adventures full of nature investigation and humor, all while inspiring children to go outside and experience nature.

WXXI Favorite Activities:

Activity: Create Your Own DIY Pond Viewer
Activity: Make Sun Prints
Activity: Make Your Own Fruit Leather Snack
Online Game: Play the game Hal’s Big Dig
Article: Encouraging Kids To Enjoy with Nature with All Their Senses
Activity: Create a natural toolbox
Learning Resources: Explore the Nature Cat PBS LearningMedia Collection

See Games, Activities and Videos from the Nature Cat Series at PBS KIDS

Learn more about the series, articles, activities and games at PBS KIDS for Parents: Nature Cat Show Page

Nature Cat Videos Playlist

Stonewall Uprising On-Demand

When gay bar Stonewall Inn was raided in 1969, gay men and women did something they had not done before: they fought back.

In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois and gays frequently found themselves being hauled off to jail, their names splashed in the next day’s newspaper. Even in Greenwich Village, where thousands of gay people moved to escape the constant oppression of their hometowns, patrons of gay bars were accustomed to frequent police harassment. But on June 28, 1969, the gay community experienced what one Village Voice reporter who was on the scene called its “Rosa Parks moment,” when the N.Y.P.D. raided a Mafia-run gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. For the first time ever, patrons refuse to be led into paddy wagons, setting off a violent three-day uprising that launched the gay rights movement.

Watch on-demand through 6/9/26

Norm & Company: Ted Curtis On-Demand

Edward “Ted” Curtis, founder of Corn Hill Navigation, the non-profit company that operates Sam Patch and Mary Jemison, shares memories of growing up on East Avenue, working as a spy for the CIA, how his grandmother saved Cobs Hill Park with help from her friend George Eastman, and how he started Corn Hill Navigation.

Mr. Curtis chaired WXXI’s Board of Trustees in 1970, and has a long history of public service, including serving as interim City Manager. He has been instrumental in developing Rochester’s waterways, and in 2011 the City of Rochester named the point of land where the Genesee River and the Erie Canal meet – Curtis Point.

Norm & Company is hosted by WXXI President Norm Silverstein, who speaks with long-time Rochesterians as they recount fascinating stories about their lives in the community.

Space Education Resources: (K-12)

WXXI Education has pulled together educational support resources related to learning about Space for K-12.

Connect to PBS LearningMedia for Space Resource Collections & Solar Eclipse Resources

Eclipse Explainer: During the eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun, until it covers the sun's light. This makes a shadow on the earth, and the eclipse can only be seen in the places where the shadow falls.

PBS KIDS Solar Eclipse Digital Kit for PreK-2nd grade (from WXXI Education)

Solar Eclipse Games and Activities from NYS Libraries

NASA Solar Eclipse Site

Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms

Space Collection: Resources organized by grade levels. (K-2) (3-5) (6-8) & (9-12) Note particularly the Solar Eclipses Lessons & Interactives for 6-8 and 9-12 Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms: Engage K–12 students with phenomena and science practices using this collection of supplementary digital media resources created by GBH in collaboration with NASA. The resources align with key NGSS Earth, space, and physical science disciplinary core ideas. To ensure that science content is accessible for all students, supports are included for students with disabilities or who are English learners; many resources have Spanish translations.

Eclipses: CrashCourse

Space Time: A PBS LearningMedia Collection for 6-12

Space Time PBS LearningMedia Collection: Join astrophysicist Matt O’Dowd on a journey through the deepest, darkest, coolest corners of the universe. Math, physics, and astronomy can’t get much bigger than this.

On the acclaimed PBS Digital Studios series Space Time, Matt explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth. Visit the series home on YouTube for new weekly episodes and challenges that prompt your classroom to think differently about physics and push the rules of space and time to the limit.

NOVA: The Great American Eclipse

Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse. Length: 60 Minutes

See the Great American Eclipse Video (From 2017)

Norm & Company: Tom Judson On-Demand

Tom Judson, Chairman and CEO of The Pike Company joins WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein on this episode of Norm & Company, where long-time Rochesterians recount fascinating stories about their lives in our community. Tom shares what it was like growing up in Brighton, how he got started in the family business, and what it’s like to have built one of the most successful construction firms in New York State.

While attending Yale for undergrad and then Cornell for his MBA, during his summer breaks Tom worked as a laborer and carpenter apprentice for John B. Pike Son, Inc, a general contracting company founded by his grandfather in 1873. As soon as he earned his MBA, he began working for the company full-time, moving up the ranks and was named President in 1975. In 1985 he established The Pike Company.

Norm & Company: George W. Hamlin IV. On-Demand

George W. Hamlin, IV, Chairman, Trust Officer, and Senior Policy Advisor for Canandaigua National Bank & Trust joins WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein on Norm & Company. Mr. Hamlin talks about his time served in the United States Air Force, his work as an attorney, and his final move to join the family business.

Born and raised in Canandaigua, Mr. Hamlin served as President & CEO Canandaigua National Bank & Trust from 1979 to 2011. His great grandfather founded the bank in 1887 and it has remained a family run business to this day. A decorated Vietnam War veteran of the U.S. Air Force, George is still an avid aviator to this day. He currently serves as Director of the New York State Wine & Culinary Center and Director of Constellation Brands – Marvin Sands Performing Art Center (C-MAC). He is also Chairman of the Board of Managers of the Eastman School of Music, and a member of its National Council, and a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

In this episode of Norm & Company, Mr. Hamlin shares his love of flying, his belief in locally-run businesses being vital to a community, and his thoughts on what lays ahead for the development of the Finger Lakes region.

Norm & Company is hosted by WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein, who speaks with long-time Rochesterians as they recount fascinating stories about their lives in the community.

Norm & Company: James Norman On-Demand

Norm & Company features James Norman, past President & CEO of Action for a Better Community.

James Norman, a leader, advocate, and role model, has served as the President & CEO of Action for a Better Community (ABC) for the past 25 years. As he heads into retirement, he plans to continue his work as a change agent in our community.

James talks about what inspired him to dedicate his life work to helping people, how he secured the position at ABC and the challenges he faced when he first took the helm. He shares his unique approach to community leadership and his thoughts on how to address the fundamental issues of poverty. He also discusses how to combat structure racism, something he has dedicated his life’s work to doing.

Norm & Company is hosted by WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein, who speaks with long-time Rochesterians as they recount fascinating stories about their lives in the community.