Local children’s museum kidscommons has taken a page from Bill Nye the Science Guy and created its own series of YouTube shows designed to keep kids engaged and learning while the facility is closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every episode of KC.TV, as it is known, opens with the introduction: “Is everybody ready? Lights, camera, action. This is KC.TV, broadcasting to you from Columbus, Indiana. Are you ready to learn all the secrets of the universe? Or are you just watching to pass the time? Either way, buckle in, because we have the show for you.”
“We were just in a situation where we had closed (because of the pandemic), and we were trying to come up with something to still keep kids engaged,” said kidscommons operations manager Whitney Hartwell. “We wanted to stay true to our mission and make things fun, safe and inviting. We knew we couldn’t do it at the museum, and we wanted to make sure that we were able to do it remotely. We didn’t want to focus on anything negative that was happening. We just wanted to focus on positivity and make things wacky and fun for kids.”
She said the staff wanted to make their videos “Bill Nye-esque” in the way they mix education with humor. KC.TV episodes are about 10 to 15 minutes long and include segments such as:
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“Kidscommons research lab,” where museum supervisor Nick Millspaugh shares interesting facts about the episode’s topic
“Awfully Awesome Art,” where museum educator Alex Leddy shows how to make a craft that involves the episode’s topic
A music video featuring an original song about the episode’s topic, written and performed by museum specialist Jadon Darnell
“We felt like these are the types of things that if kids are going to, you know, be stuck at home watching things, then these are the types of things we want them to be watching,” Hartwell said.
The children’s museum, at 309 Washington St. in downtown Columbus, offers a variety of exhibits and hands-on learning opportunities from ExploraHouse, home of the world-famous giant toilet, to a 17-foot-tall climbing wall and the bubble room.
The first episode of KC.TV was posted on kidscommons’ YouTube channel on April 24. Since then, new episodes have been uploaded on YouTube every Friday at 10 a.m. and shared on the museum’s Facebook page as well.
On Friday, July 3, KC.TV will upload its 11th episode, which is final video for season one. Hartwell said the show will “hopefully” be back in the fall, with season two beginning around the third week of October with a possible Halloween episode.
When asked about response to the videos, Hartwell replied, “We’ve seen quite a few people watch them, but for us, it doesn’t really matter. … We’ve had parents reach out to us and tell us that their kids watch it every Friday and they love it. And for us, that’s worth it.”
The children’s museum has been closed since March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hartwell was unable to give an estimate for when kidscommons might reopen its doors.
“We’re doing the best that we can to get reopened as quickly as we can,” Hartwell said. “And we don’t have any other details other then we want to make sure that when we open that we stay true to our mission and be fun, safe and inviting for everybody.”
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All episodes of KC.TV are available on kidscommons’ YouTube channel, as well as its Facebook page.
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To learn more about kidscommons, visit kidscommons.org/.
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