In this 100th episode, tellers share how dealing with challenges showed them strengths they never knew they had. Brandon bridges the gap between their deaf grandma and a police officer using ASL; an allergic reaction turns Sara’s vacation upside down; and Jeff takes on Mt. Kilimanjaro for cancer research. Three storytellers, three interpretations of ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, hosted by Theresa Okokon. Stories from the Stage: One Way or Another
Rochester Children’s Book Festival
WXXI is pleased to be a part of the 2024 Rochester Children’s Book Festival!
The 26th Rochester Children’s Book Festival will take place on Saturday, November 2, 2024, from10AM to 4PM. The event will be held at Monroe Community College. Join us for a day filled with author and illustrator presentations, workshops, readings, book signings, book-inspired crafts, and more! Around 50 authors and illustrators will be at this fun, free celebration of literacy and learning. See you there! Visit the RCBF website https://www.rcbfestival.com/ for more information, including the author list and presentation schedule.
The Golisano Foundation Awards WXXI a Five-Year Grant
The Golisano Foundation has awarded WXXI Public Media a five-year grant totaling $1.65M in support of the continuation and expansion of the Move to Include initiative.
In 2014 WXXI and the Foundation joined forces to launch Move to Include (MTI), an initiative that uses the power of public media to inform and transform attitudes and behavior about intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities.
This five-year grant will enable WXXI to continue and strengthen the core MTI content and productions including WXXI-produced documentaries, primetime and children’s TV programming, social media, and special events. It will also support the Inclusion Desk, a multi-platform reporting effort by WXXI News dedicated to consistently reporting on disability issues and stories of inclusion. The grant will also enable WXXI to hire a dedicated project manager to oversee productions, monitor the brand, and work to increase audience reach. WXXI’s investment over the next five years totals $1.1M.
In 2020 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting recognized the importance of Move to Include and awarded WXXI a grant to expand efforts to five additional public media stations, which include WFYI (Indianapolis), OPB (Oregon), WGCU (Southwest Florida), WCNY (Syracuse), and Iowa PBS. Now with the support of the Golisano Foundation, WXXI has a goal to partner with 40 new PBS stations nationwide to implement MTI in their communities.
“We are grateful to the Golisano Foundation for its generous support that will enable us to focus more effort on expanding MTI content and outreach,” said WXXI President Norm Silverstein. “Move to Include is an important part of our mission to ensure that a diverse set of voices is heard on our air, online, and in digital and community spaces.”
“We are pleased to partner with WXXI and continue our support for Move to Include, which has become a catalyst for inclusive programming in New York and several other states. With the proposed expansion to even more stations across the country, we look forward to an exciting new era of inclusive programming and public education that will increase engagement and impact on issues, experiences, and perspectives of the disability community,” said Ann Costello, Executive Director, Golisano Foundation.
WXXI has been providing focused coverage of disabilities for the past 19 years, first partnering in 2003 with the Al Sigl Community of Agencies to produce Dialogue on Disability, a one-week initiative weaving programming and news coverage focused on disabilities. In 2014 with the support of businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation, the Move to Include initiative was formed, enabling WXXI to develop year-round programming promoting inclusion that now reaches more than one million people. WXXI has continued to expand production, increase the number of special events, and widen its reach online and on social with the support of $1.475M to date from the Golisano Foundation.
Our Sponsors
Concrete Gridiron On-Demand:
Follow the Buffalo team as they navigate their inaugural season and discover a lifelong purpose in adaptative sports. In 2021, a wheelchair football league launched nationwide. Discover the first wheelchair football league in Buffalo, NY that is a part of the national league, which is made up of athletes living with disabilities.
Work It Out Wombats Videos, Games, and Songs
Play games and watch full episodes of Work It Out Wombats: https://pbskids.org/wombats
Work It Out Wombats!™, a PBS KIDS® animated series for preschoolers and kindergartners, follows the adventures of a playful trio of marsupial siblings—Malik, Zadie, and Zeke—who live with their grandmother (named Super!) in a fantastical treehouse apartment complex. The Treeborhood is home to a diverse and quirky community of neighbors, who just happen to be wombats, snakes, moose, kangaroos, iguanas, fish, tarsiers, and eagles! With an educational focus on computational thinking, Work It Out Wombats! introduces children to a creative way of thinking that helps them solve problems and complete tasks in more organized ways, using a toolkit of skills from computer science.
Where to Watch:
- WXXI Kids 24/7 Channel on TV 21.4/Cable 1277 (or 1278)
- WXXI Kids website Live Stream or PBSKIDS.org and the PBS KIDS free Video App. (Download)
- PBS KIDS YouTube channel
Work It Out Wombats PBS KIDS for Parents Page: Articles & Activities & Games
Work It Out Wombats PBS LearningMedia Collection
Work it Out Wombats Podcast, join your favorite Wombats on eight super fun podcast playdates! The Work It Out Wombats! Podcast invites YOU, the listener, to join Zadie, Zeke and Malik as they sail a pirate ship through the Crashing Cliffs, fly to the sky in a make-believe Cloud Ship, enjoy a spooky campout, and build a super-strong fort that NO wind can blow down. You won’t just be listening to the fun, you’ll be having fun – singing, dancing, jumping, clapping, making, and creating right alongside your favorite Wombats. The Work It Out Wombats! Or watch on PBS KIDS YouTube Channel
Watch on PBSKIDS.org or the PBS KIDS YouTube Playlist or the PBS KIDS Video App for Full Episodes and Songs
The Sun Queen On-Demand
Unsung scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun.
For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Mária Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world’s first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues — all men — at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents.
She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity — a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the ‘70s continue to shape how we power our lives today. Produced and directed by Amanda Pollak, produced and written by Gene Tempest, and executive produced by Cameo George. Available to watch through 4/3/2026.
Goin’ Back to T-Town On-Demand
American Experience presents Goin’ Back to T-Town. Goin’ Back to T-Town tells the story of Greenwood, an extraordinary Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that prospered during the 1920s and 30s despite rampant and hostile segregation. Torn apart in 1921 by one of the worst racially-motivated massacres in the nation’s history, the neighborhood rose from the ashes, and by 1936 boasted the largest concentration of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. Available through 2/7/2024.
Zookeepers: I Can Be What?!
Behind the scenes at a zoo can be wild and crazy! Join Jen to find out what it takes to be a zookeeper – hint: sometimes you have to clean up poop.
Have you ever gone to the zoo and wondered who is taking care of all of the animals? Someone has to feed them, clean up their enclosures and even train them for check-ups. In this episode, our host Jen meets three zookeepers and learns about the different skills, education and science behind a career taking care of amazing animals.
Watch the Lynx Keeper: Behind the scenes at a zoo can be wild and crazy! Join host Jen as she spends the day with Zookeeper Kellee. One of her jobs is taking care of the Canada lynx, a big cat that can make a big mess!
Watch the Giraffe Keeper: On her next adventure, host Jen meets another Zookeeper who works with animals 3 times her size! These young Masai giraffes require a lot of training but Zookeeper Azarra knows what it takes to keep these animals healthy and safe.
Watch the Reptile Keeper: The last zookeeper Jen meets on her journey is Nick. He takes care of the reptiles in the zoo and shows Jen a few of the animals in his care. They even get to take an iguana for a walk.
Support Materials
Use the resources below to help keep your kids learning – asking questions, learning new words, and exploring connected resources!
Discussion Questions
- What are some ways that you use your senses every day?
- How do you take care of your body to stay healthy?
- What foods are part of your diet?
- What questions would you ask a zookeeper?
- Do you like animals? Why or why not?
- What part of a zookeeper’s job looks hard? Fun? Messy? Smelly?
- What animals make good pets? Not so good pets?
- What are some ways that you can help protect animal habitats?
More Animal & Zookeeper Resources
These resources are from public media partner organizations – they’re educational, trustworthy, and will help you and your child learn more.