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Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Games, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum on https://pbskids.org/xavier

Explore the PBS LearningMedia Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum Collection

Inspired by the best-selling kids book series, Ordinary People Change the World, by New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos, XAVIER RIDDLE AND THE SECRET MUSEUM follows the adventures of Xavier, Yadina and Brad as they tackle everyday problems by doing something extraordinary: traveling back in time to learn from real-life inspirational figures like Marie Curie, Harriet Tubman and Jackie Robinson when they were kids. Each adventure will help young viewers make the connection between the skills that made these historical figures heroes and those same qualities within themselves, helping them discover that they, too, can change the world.

Watch Playlist of Full Episodes:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Activities: 

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Xavier Riddle & and Secret Museum

Let’s Go Luna: Games, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Let’s Go Luna on https://pbskids.org/luna

Explore the PBS LearningMedia Let’s Go Luna Collection

“Let’s Go Luna!” is a show for kids ages 4 to 7 that follows the adventures of three friends as they travel the world with their parents’ traveling performance troupe, “Circo Fabuloso.” At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the Moon guides the trio – Leo, a wombat from Australia; Carmen, a butterfly from Mexico; and Andy, a frog from the United States – as they get to know the local region and its people. Their adventures take them through cities around the globe where they explore the food, music, art, architecture and other features that make each place unique and wonderful.

Watch Playlist of Full Episodes:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Activities: 

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Let’s Go Luna

Hero Elementary: Games, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Hero Elementary on https://pbskids.org/heroelementary

“Hero Elementary” is a school for budding superheroes, where kids learn to master their powers, like flying and teleportation, while exploring science along the way! The series aims to give children ages 4 to 7 the tools to solve problems by thinking and acting like scientists and sparking their natural curiosity and empathy.

Watch Playlist of Full Episodes:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Activities: 

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Hero Elementary

Sid the Science Kid: Games, Videos & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Sid the Science Kids and friends on https://pbskids.org/sid

Sid the Science Kid uses comedy and music to promote exploration, discovery and science readiness among preschoolers. Sid the Science Kid features a practical in-school science curriculum and celebrates children’s natural curiosity about science in everyday life. The energetic and inquisitive Sid starts each episode with a new question (“Why are my shoes shrinking?” “Why do bananas get mushy?”) and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers with the help of family and friends.

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Activities: 

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Sid the Science Kid Page

Driving While Black On-Demand

Chronicling the riveting history and personal experiences of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond. Available to watch through 10/12/27.

 Driving While Black: Race, Space, and Mobility in America, a ground-breaking, two-hour documentary film by acclaimed historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy–winning director Ric Burns. The film chronicles the riveting history and personal experiences of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond. It explores the deep background of a recent phrase rooted in realities that have been an indelible part of the African American experience for hundreds of years – told in large part through the stories of the men, women and children who lived through it.

Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship – and based on and inspired in large part by Gretchen Sorin’s recently published study of the way the automobile and highways transformed African American life across the 20th century â€“  the film examines the history of African Americans on the road from the depths of the Depression to the height of the Civil Rights movement and beyond, exploring along the way the deeply embedded dynamics of race, space and mobility in America during one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in American history.

The right to move freely and safely across the American landscape has always been unequally distributed by race and powerfully contested in the American experience.  With urgent and powerful relevance to issues and dynamics at work in American society today – of race and class, gender, safety, law enforcement, automobile culture, recreation, personal freedom and national identity – this resonant and deeply moving history is at once revelatory, troubling and deeply inspiring for what it uncovers about the long road to justice in American history, and about the creativity, courage and commitment to change that makes it possible.

Driving While Black utilizes a rich archive of material from the period — including footage, photographs, advertisements, road signs, maps, letters and legal records — and weaves together oral histories and the on-camera insights of scholars, writers, musicians and ordinary American travelers. Program website.

The Age of Nature Education Collections

THE AGE OF NATURE is a  three-part documentary series, exploring how an increased awareness of the natural world is leading to a new chapter in the story of both humanity and the planet. The series focuses on the resiliency of Earth’s ecosystems through stories of success, as scientists, citizens and governments act to fix past mistakes and restore the environment. 

Education Resources

WXXI Education staff have collected resources from The Age of Nature series, PBS LearningMedia, our partners, and more that are appropriate for use with middle and high school students. 

About The Age of Nature Series Episode Overviews:

Episode 1 “Awakening”: Discover how a new awareness of nature is helping to restore ecosystems across the globe, with inventive actions being taken to repair manmade damage and restore reefs, rivers, animal populations and more. In the Pacific Island of Bikini Atoll, the full extent of the ocean’s ability to recover is evident. When scientists returned 50 years after the world’s most powerful nuclear weapons experiment devastated the island, they were astonished to discover that the reefs they thought destroyed were thriving. When forest land began to be developed around the Panama Canal, scientists stepped in to explain that there would be no water for the canal without the trees. A national park was created, saving some of the richest rainforests on Earth. In Norway, the crash of the cod industry is a cautionary tale about exhausting a once-abundant natural resource. But working sustainably, the fishing community has learned to manage resources for future generations. The resurrection of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique in the wake of civil war and widespread poaching shows that ecosystems can be repaired — with a nudge in the right direction. Finally, in China, the enormous potential for humans to improve the environment is stunningly realized in the 25-year restoration of the Loess Plateau, the cradle of Chinese civilization, which had turned to dust during 8000 years of human activity.

Episode 2 “Understanding”: Explore how a new understanding of nature is helping us find surprising ways to fix it. Along the Elwha River in Washington, we learn how removing dams has led not only to the recovery of the local forest but also Chinook salmon, which provide food for the endangered orca population. In China, one scientist’s determination to restore fireflies, which provide natural pest control, is transforming the lives of rural farming communities — even tiny creatures can have a significant impact. The return of wolves to America’s first National Park, Yellowstone, has rejuvenated the entire landscape, repairing and restoring habitat that had been over-grazed by herbivores. This pioneering project discovered the crucial role of predators in bringing balance to ecosystems. In Scotland, planting trees is reversing massive deforestation which took place centuries ago, helping native wildlife thrive and mitigating some of the effects of climate change. And in South Africa’s Cape Town, innovative efforts to remove massively thirsty European pines and other invasive species are helping to restore the watershed, which faced a severe shortage in 2018 after three years of drought.

Episode 3 “Changing”: An urgent problem faces the planet: climate change. But around the world, scientists, citizens and indigenous activists are increasing our understanding of the potential of nature to help us cope with and even mitigate it. From Bhutan — the only carbon-neutral country in the world — to Borneo, an encouraging restoration of ecosystems is taking place, from planting forests to re-wilding areas to increasing biodiversity. In Poland, bison have been reintroduced to the Bialowieza Forest, the largest in Europe. New discoveries in Australia reveal that seagrass meadows lock massive amounts of carbon underwater and may help save the Great Barrier Reef. In Antarctica, whales — whose digestive processes feed microscopic phytoplankton, the basis for life in the oceans — are recovering. And in Belize, we meet Madison Edwards, who at 11-years-old waged a social media campaign that became a national movement, resulting in a government ban on offshore drilling.

Norm & Company: Shawn Dunwoody On-Demand

Artist and educator Shawn Dunwoody joins WXXI President Norm Silverstein for an episode of Norm & Company. A self-described “creative force for change,” Shawn has used his talents to create public art projects focused on uplifting communities and engaging neighborhoods. Shawn reflects on how his work has brought meaning to his life and the lives of so many others.

A native of Rochester who grew up in the Marketview Heights neighborhood, Shawn has focused his life’s work on visual storytelling, collaboratively painting murals that communicate powerful ideas. His most recent street art shared messages of safety during the pandemic and amplifying the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Learn more about this visionary, who is helping to advance the cultural and economic well-being of the Finger Lakes region and bring much-needed attention to areas of critical need in many city neighborhoods.

Native America in the Classroom

Explore the world created by America’s First Peoples with PBS’ Native America. The four-part series reaches back 15,000 years, revealing massive cities aligned to the stars, unique systems of science and spirituality, and 100 million people connected by social networks spanning two continents.

In this collection, you will find the program in full, along with stand-alone clips and classroom activities. The video clips and associated support materials bring the value of sacred origin stories and the complexity of early Native city planning to life, and culminate in hands-on activities designed to help students better understand both. 

Resources from the program include:

Sacred Origin Stories of 6 Civilizations

Ancient City Planning

Native Government & Early Democracy (Including the Haudenosaunee)

Watch the Full Program Series (4 Parts) from Native American Season 1

Native America Season 2 Resources

About the Native America Series (Season 1) Weaving history and science with living Indigenous traditions, the series brings to life a land of massive cities connected by social networks spanning two continents, with unique and sophisticated systems of science, art and writing. Made with the active participation of Native American communities and filmed in some of the most spectacular locations in the hemisphere, Native America illuminates the splendor of a past whose story has for too long remained untold.

Informed by Native American oral histories have led to a bold new perspective on North and South America – that through social networks spanning two continents ancient people shared a foundational belief system with a diversity of cultural expressions. This and other research is leading to revelations that will forever change how we understand Native America. The series highlights intimate Native American traditions and follows field archaeologists using 21st century tools such as multispectral imaging and DNA analysis to uncover incredible narratives of America’s past, venturing into Amazonian caves containing the Americas’ earliest art and interactive solar calendar, exploring a massive tunnel beneath a pyramid at the center of one of ancient America’s largest cities, and mapping the heavens in celestially aligned cities.

Narrated by Robbie Robertson (Mohawk and member of the famed rock group The Band), each hour of Native America explores Great Nations and reveals cities, sacred stories and history long hidden in plain sight. In what is now America’s Southwest, indigenous people built stone skyscrapers with untold spiritual power and transformed deserts into fertile fields. In upstate New York, warriors renounced war and formed America’s first democracy 500 years before the Declaration of Independence, later inspiring Benjamin Franklin. Just outside Mexico City, the ancient city of Teotihuacan is home to massive pyramids built to align with the sun and moon. On the banks of the Mississippi, rulers also raised a metropolis of pyramids and drew thousands to their new city to worship the sky. And in the American West, nomadic tribes transformed a weapon of conquest — the horse — into a new way of life, turning the tables on European invaders and building a mobile empire.  

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