Past Events

Summer Reading Party

On June 30, 2012  Mississippi Public Broadcasting hosted a Summer Reading Party at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum.

From 10am – 2pm, readers of ALL AGES enjoyed activities centered around summer reading and literacy! Using books like “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” for younger readers or books like “The Outsiders” for those more advanced, everyone is sure to have fun-filled learning adventure!

As a special treat, SHOCK from the PBS show “The Electric Company”  performed at 11am and 1pm to beat-box the city of Jackson into summer.  CLICK HERE to see pictures from the events.

About The Electric Company

The Electric Company is a TV show, an online destination and a community outreach experience that offers children a hip portal into the world of literacy. This reinvention of the classic 70’s show continues its’ predecessor’s aim of being at the edge of cool by drawing on animation, comedic styles, hip music and celebrities of today. The backbone of the project remains literacy with a curriculum of vocabulary, phonics and comprehension of connected text.

The Electric Company is a group of friends from a New York neighborhood bound by a love for language and sworn to do the right thing. Episodes are playful, funny and musical. Each story has specific vocabulary that supports its episode’s theme. Among the themes the show explores are: the body, animals, games, and space.

In each episode, The Electric Company is called upon to solve a problem created by a naughty group of neighborhood Pranksters. In every instance, the Company prevails with the power of their words. While the stories can be fantastical, each episode follows a wildly creative logic that often results in the characters breaking into song.

Visit The Electric Company website for more information on the show.

2011 Summer Library Events

During the month of June 2011, MPB’s Early Childhood staff participated in the summer reading programs of libraries around the state, including the cities of Jackson, Utica, Clinton, Pascagoula, Biloxi, D’Iberville, and Quitman. Approximately 500 children and parents participated in story time, arts and crafts, and music and movement activities focused on the summer theme of “One World, Many Stories.”  CLICK HERE to see pictures from the events.

2nd Annual City of Jackson First Day Event

On August 13, 2011, MPB’s Education Services partnered with the City of Jackson for their 2^nd annual First Day Celebration at the Jackson Convention Complex.  The event featured a special performance by Ed Said and the Lunch Bunch.  In addition, Early Childhood staff provided educational materials to the approximately 2,000 attendees. CLICK HERE for pictures from the event.

Bolton-Edwards Back to School Night

On September 8, 2011, MPB Education Services staff participated in the Bolton-Edwards Elementary/Middle School Back to School Night and distributed literacy resources to attendees.  The event also featured a special performance by The Cat in the Hat.

NatureFEST

NatureFEST - April 14, 2012
10 am - 5 pm
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Calling all Nature Trackers! Families from across the state are invited to attend NatureFEST, featuring DINOSAUR TRAIN, at the Museum of Natural Science for a full day of science exploration and discovery in a natural environment.  This event promises to be fun and engaging for the whole family. Children will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning activities, screen episodes of DINOSAUR TRAIN, receive giveaway items to encourage their science exploration at home and at school, and become members of the Nature Trackers club. They will also participate in BioDiversity Live with Rob Mies and his two-toed sloth, balloon activities with Inky the Clown, and much more.

Children will also be encouraged to participate in a variety of outdoor activities in order to receive their official Nature Trackers membership cards.  Challenge activities will cover the four themes of tracking, collecting, conservation, and community.  

For more information about the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, click here.

For more information about the Nature Trackers Club, click here.

This event is funded in part by the Jim Henson Company and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation. 

Read for the Record

Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Mississippi State University, and the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education came together to celebrate literacy in Mississippi and Read for the Record.

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®, presented in partnership with the Pearson Foundation, is one day of the year when millions of individuals come together to celebrate in an effort to jumpstart a child’s future and help children enter school prepared to succeed. Adults and children will be encouraged to read this year’s official book Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman and Jacky Davis and participate in related literacy activities.

This campaign brought together Mississippians who shared a common goal: to break last year’s reading record by having the most readers of the same children’s book in one day. Children engaged in literacy through the arts to ensure that they had memorable learning experiences with Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad.