GEN: A toybox full of new features on pbskids.org

[Peter Milbury <pmilbury@ericir.syr.edu>]

From: Carol Dufault <cdufault@pbs.org>

YOUNG SURFERS CAN GO 'BEHIND THE SCENES' AND INTERACT WITH THEIR
FAVORITE CHARACTERS AT THE RELAUNCHED PBS KIDS WEB SITE -- pbskids.org

Trivia, Jokes, Songs and Surprises
Mark Educational Web Destination Debuting Today

ALEXANDRIA, VA., February 1, 2000 -- Offering its visitors a toybox full
of new features and content, the PBS Kids Web site (http://pbskids.org)
relaunches today with a comprehensive backstage look at PBS Kids show
characters and engaging educational activities. PBS Kids is the most
popular area of the 85,000-page PBS.org Web site.

The redesigned PBS Kids site will enable kids to write stories, respond
to other kids, tell jokes and discover answers to puzzling questions.
Site visitors can also access the official Web sites and related
activities for their favorite PBS Kids television programs, including
ARTHUR, DRAGON TALES, MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD, NODDY, TELETUBBIES,
ZOBOOMAFOO and ZOOM.

With the relaunch, PBS Kids will feature new areas providing information
about kid-related content available through local PBS stations: "In Your
Town" and "What's New?" When users click on these areas they can see
local station information and links to local station Web sites. In the
coming months, these links will expand to include information about
local PBS Kids show character appearances, children's fairs, and
birthday clubs.

The "What's New?" area will feature a newspaper-style page with articles
about new activities on pbskids.org, as well as stories written by
children from across the country.

Other features of the new site include:

* "You Be the Judge": encourages kids to boost their media smarts with
an activity that shows how to watch and listen with a critical eye and
ear. This new feature, combined with the existing "Get Your Web License"
activity, round out PBS's TechKnow media literacy area;

* "Backstage at PBS": offers an offbeat and memory-jiggling timeline of
PBS kids show milestones since 1968. This area also teaches kids about
the behind-the-scenes action of television production with the
interactive game, "Lights, Camera, Action!";

* "Learn All About It": aggregates subject-related sites for school-aged
kids, and provides a weekly trivia teaser to promote fact-digging;

* Ready to Learn: The content within PBS Kids and its affiliated sites
is based on extensive focus group research with kids ages 4-12 to
enhance the goals of PBS's Ready to Learn (RTL) Service. RTL combines
PBS's award-winning educational children's programs with local seminars,
mailings of resource materials and other efforts to help children
prepare for success in school;

* Easier access: The new site also features easier access using more
visual clues and a "sonified" experience for those with the free Beatnik
plug-in, allowing pre-readers to help direct their own navigation of the
site; and

* "Notes for Caregivers": aids parents, caregivers and teachers in using
pbskids.org through usability tips and curriculum groupings.

"The relaunched PBS Kids site empowers kids to make smart choices by
helping them to think critically about media," said Michelle Miller,
editor of PBS Kids Online. "At the same time, innovative content from
PBS' national producers and local stations enables visitors from 2-14 to
have fun creating their own PBS Kids experience."

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a private, nonprofit media
enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 346 public television
stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of
noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the
lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services
that inform, inspire and delight. Available to 99 percent of American
homes with televisions and to an increasing number of digital multimedia
households, PBS serves nearly 100 million people each week. More
information about PBS is available at pbs.org.

PBS.org, PBS' award-winning site on the World Wide Web, produces
high-quality Web programming as it pioneers the convergence of
television and the Internet. PBS Online features more than 85,000 pages
of content, as well as companion Web sites for more than 400 PBS
programs and specials. PBS.org has won the prestigious Webby Award for
best TV Web site in 1998 and 1999. In January 2000, Yahoo! put PBS.org
at the top of its list of the best Web sites of all time.

Contact:
Kevin Dando, PBS
(703) 739-5073

                        ###

--
Carol Snyder Dufault -- cdufault@pbs.org -- 703/739-5788
Education Associate, Online Communications, PBS
Check out the new PBS TeacherSource
at http://pbs.org/teachersource

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