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On-Demand

Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band

Watch videos from Acoustic Rooster at https://pbskids.org/videos/acoustic-rooster

Get the kids in your life jazzed about jazz with Acoustic Rooster and his Barnyard Band, premiering May 1!🐓🎶 See schedule for TV and Livestream | Channels & Livestreams

Based on the beloved children’s book by bestselling author Kwame Alexander, the one-hour special will teach kids about foundational music concepts and the importance of teamwork to inspire them to use their creativity as an outlet for self-expression as it opens their eyes—and ears—to the richness of jazz.

About the Series and Video Shorts:

Get ready to groove! Based on Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, the beloved children’s book by Emmy® Award-winning, Newbery medalist, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander, the ACOUSTIC ROOSTER universe is coming to PBS KIDS with a special and a short-form series produced by GBH. This will feature ACOUSTIC ROOSTER AND HIS BARNYARD BAND, a one-hour special, and ACOUSTIC ROOSTER: JAZZY JAMS, an upbeat new animated series of 20 shorts that will introduce viewers ages 3-5 to the vibrant world of the arts, specifically jazz music, while reinforcing the importance of collaboration, creativity, and self-expression.

Centered on the titular character, a guitar-strumming rooster who joins the Barnyard Band of Jazz Greats, the series and special feature 24 original tracks composed by Juno Award-winning jazz musician Mark McLean, as well as special guests, including jazz icon Herbie Hancock and renowned jazz bassist Amy Shook. The music-filled special, ACOUSTIC ROOSTER AND HIS BARNYARD BAND, premieres on May 1. In addition to today’s sneak peek, ACOUSTIC ROOSTER: JAZZY JAMS will debut a second short on April 11, with the remaining rolling out weekly beginning May 9, 2025. The multiplatform world of Acoustic Rooster and his friends will also include an interactive game, Groovin’ with Acoustic Rooster, which allows kids to create their own music and play along with their favorite songs from the show. 

“When my daughter was a baby, I was having a really hard time soothing her so I put on Ella Fitzgerald’s record ‘A Tisket-A Tasket,’ then I played Wynton’s Stardust, and she was captivated. Immediately stopped crying,” said Alexander. “Playing jazz for her inspired me to write Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band to share the history and the power of the music and the musicians with the world through a fictional barnyard band.”     

The one-hour special, ACOUSTIC ROOSTER AND HIS BARNYARD BAND, will teach kids about foundational music concepts and the importance of teamwork to inspire them to use their creativity as an outlet for self-expression as it opens their eyes—and ears—to the richness of jazz. The toe-tapping special follows the musical adventures of the precocious, young Acoustic Rooster, who dreams of joining a world-class jazz band alongside his talented friends, including Mules Davis, Lil’ Herdin, Ella Finchgerald, Duck Ellington, and the Chick-A-Dees (an adorable trio of preschool chicks), whose names are all playful nods to famous jazz greats.

“Music has the unique ability to inspire creativity, foster connection, and help children express themselves in meaningful ways,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS. “ACOUSTIC ROOSTER uses the magic of jazz to spark a love for music as it supports personal growth, making it a truly inspiring and fun experience for young viewers.”

Each 3-minute episode of ACOUSTIC ROOSTER: JAZZY JAMS follows Rooster and his friends as they go on musical adventures about friendship, fun, and jazz. These short stories highlight styles of jazz, musical concepts, as well as kid-relatable everyday experiences, each featuring an original song. Whether they’re helping a friend overcome sadness with a blues song or jumpstarting the day with a jazzy tune, Rooster and his friends will help kids understand the importance of expressing their emotions and how music can be a meaningful part of their everyday lives.

Our Changing World: Earth Month April Films & Features • WXXI-WORLD

Throughout the month, join WORLD as we showcase the our changing world with films, features, on-air, streaming and on-demand collections for Earth Month in April 2025.

Featured Programs & Films
Our World Collection

Independent Lens “Home Court” • On-Demand

This film traces the ascent of Cambodian American teenager Ashley Chea, a basketball prodigy whose life intensifies amid college recruitment, injury, and triumph.

 Independent Lens “Home Court” is available on-demand above through 6/22/25 and on the PBS App.

Filmed over three years of Ashley’s high school career, ”Home Court” is a coming-of-age story that relays the highs and lows of her immigrant family, surmounting racial and class differences, and personal trials that include a devastating knee injury.  

The film opens in Ashley’s sophomore year of high school. She shuttles between her home in a lower-income neighborhood in Los Angeles and her private school, Flintridge Prep, while traveling to youth basketball tournaments and visiting colleges around the country. Ashley’s parents work long hours at their donut shop, so her coach, Jayme Kiyomura Chan, steps in where they cannot. 

With the pressure of being one of the top basketball recruits in the country, tensions rise as Ashley navigates college offers and her family’s input. Meanwhile, she grapples with the task of leading her high school team, as well as being a leader in her community and the mounting responsibility to represent her culture. The film culminates in the bittersweet moments of Ashley leaving for college with her family.

Mystery League Videos, Games & Activities

Watch a new mystery series for 3-5 graders from PBS KIDS and Arkansas PBS: Mystery League

Mystery League” is a new live-action series that teaches kids in kindergarten through second grades about friendship and community. This series features three fifth-grade detectives – Millie, Mike and Marta – as they solve the never-ending mysteries of the fictional small Arkansas town of Mulberry Springs. Each episode features relevant storylines that encourage Arkansas kids to problem solve and build relationships. To play games, download learning resources and learn more, visit https://myarpbs.org/mysteryleague.

Where to Watch:

  •  PBSKIDS.org and the PBS KIDS free Video App. (Download)
  • PBS KIDS YouTube channel

Chip Kids: Bending Light

Have you ever wondered why a magnifying glass distorts your reflection?  Mrs. Pope and the Chip Kids discover how to bend light like engineers.

Explore how engineers “bend light” to make computer chips! Photolithography is a process used to put a specific pattern on a chip before etching. Photo means light and lithography means printing, so in photolithography you are printing with light. It is easy to see how this process works with a pair scissors, a paper plate, and flashlight. Engineers use a special mask, which is like a stencil with some dark areas and clear areas, to properly print a pattern onto the chip. The light shines only through the clear areas of the mask onto a wafer or chip

Vocabulary for Students to Define: Photolithography, Photo Resist, Convex, Refraction, Etching, Mask, Semiconductor, Microchip

Teacher Guide for Lesson & Experiment

Bending Light Lesson Guide

Student Handouts

Fillable Bending Light Lab Report
Printable Bending Light Lab Report

Our Sponsors

Sponsored By:

East Tennessee PBS

Chip Kids: Diffusion

What happens when you pour water in the center of a circle of candy?  Mrs. Pope connects the colorful result to the principle of diffusion, where particles flow outwards to become evenly spread out.

Explore what candy and semiconductors have in common! Diffusion is the movement of molecules from areas of high concentration to low concentration. Candy is a high concentration of sugar and coloring, when placed in water, the molecules will gradually try and move towards the plain water. With microchips, we can expose a semiconductor like silicon to gas or liquid containing other elements to chemically alter the composition of the wafer.

Vocabulary for Students to Define: Molecules, High & Low Concentration, Conductivity, Diffusion, Etching, Mask, Resist, Semiconductor, Microchip

Teacher Guide for Lesson & Experiment

Diffusion Lesson Guide

Student Handouts

Fillable Diffusion Lab Report
Printable Diffusion Lab Report

Our Sponsors

Sponsored By:

East Tennessee PBS

Chip Kids: Keep It Clean!

A speck of dust is huge compared to a semiconductor— so how can we make sure our microchips are clean?  Using pennies and various liquids, Mrs. Pope and the Chip Kids discover which substance does the trick.

Explore how chemicals are used to keep microchips clean! Computer chips are made up of tiny components that are so small that a human hair or speck of dust would be huge in comparison. Let’s check out how engineers keep wafers clean as they are made. Grab some dirty pennies and a couple of household liquids (lemon juice, vinegar, and soapy water) to simulate how we can use chemicals to keep our microchips clean.

Vocabulary for Students to Define: Clean Room, Sterile, Personal Protective Equipment, Semiconductor, Microchip, Transistors

Teacher Guide for Lesson & Experiment

Keep It Clean! Lesson Guide

Student Handouts

Fillable Keep It Clean! Lab Report
Printable Keep It Clean Lab Report

Our Sponsors

Sponsored By:

East Tennessee PBS

Chip Kids: Microchip 3D

Microchips are found in electronic devices all around us, from computers to rocket ships, but what do they actually look like?  Mrs. Pope zooms in on these tiny devices and their surprising layers.

Vocabulary for Students to Define: Silica, Copper, Oxide, Polymer, Mask, Etching, Resistors, Diffusion, Deposition, Dopant, Transistors, Diodes, Capacitors, Insulators, Conductors, Semiconductors

Lesson & Experiment Activities:

Make a 3D Computer Chip Model

Our Sponsors

Sponsored By:

East Tennessee PBS

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