Did you know that today is Fred Rogers' birthday? He would have been 89 years old. When I was a kid, I rarely missed an episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. I loved learning about how things were made in those little video clips he often showed and I was positively enthralled by Lady Aberlin in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
As an adult and a parent, I have a totally different view and a profound respect for Rogers' advocacy for children and education. He testified in court and before the U.S. Senate on behalf of children's programming. Rogers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, some forty honorary degrees, and a Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, was recognized by two Congressional resolutions, and was ranked No. 35 among TV Guide's Fifty Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Several buildings and artworks in Pennsylvania are dedicated to his memory, and the Smithsonian Institution displays one of his trademark sweaters as a "Treasure of American History."
To celebrate Fred's legacy and encourage fans to share their personal stories of how Fred, PBS and member stations have positively impacted them, PBS will be celebrating his life all day today on their social media. Be sure to keep an eye out for their posts!
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is a new animated show on PBS KIDS based on one of Rogers' characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Today, there's a Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Trolley-themed takeover of pbskids.org and a special new Trolley kart in PBS KIDS' online world Kart Kingdom (now also available as a free app for iPad).
They've also created these new Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood iOS stickers and added them to the free PBS KIDS sticker pack. You can download them here:
Disclosure: I'm a PBS KIDS Ambassador, which allows me to share special news and materials with my readers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.