WHRO is excited to once again participate in the annual Virginia Children’s Festival in Norfolk. For children and parents, the highlight of WHRO’s exhibit area tends to be the games and the PBS characters who stop by to visit. This year, children will have the opportunity to meet both Super Why and Sid the Science Kid. There will also be a meet-and-greet with Mr. Steve from PBS Kids as well as a Sesame Street photo opportunity.

Event Details:

The Virginia Children’s Festival
Saturday, October 5, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Town Point Park, Norfolk
$5 Admission (Infants age 1 and under are free)

Purchase tickets at Festevents.org.

At the WHRO booth you can:
Meet Super Why, Sid the Science Kid and Mr. Steve.
Enjoy a Sesame Street photo opportunity. 
Play games to win prizes.
Learn about all of WHRO's great kids' programming and services.

Enjoy music from Mr. Steve and friends
Set 1: WHRO Public Media presents GreenBeats with Skye Zentz and Steve Songs
Set 2: WHRO Public Media presents Steve Songs with special guest Skye Zentz


For our WHRO Education staff the event is an exciting time to demonstrate to the community the many fun and valuable services we offer to local students. For many years, WHRO has been committed to advancing early childhood education in the Commonwealth of Virginia because we realize the value of preparing children with foundational skills they will need as they enter school.

According to a 2014 School Readiness Survey, nearly 50% of parents worry that their child won’t have the skills necessary for a successful transition to elementary school. Exposing children to basic reading and math skills early prepares them for success throughout their school career. The U.S. Department of Education reports that children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3-4 times more likely to drop out in later years.

That’s the reason our WHRO Education staff invests so much time into developing literacy programs that they present throughout the community during visits from our Reading Van and creating presentations to teach coding, math and engineering concepts during visits from our STEM Van. Drawing from children’s favorite PBS Kids television shows, our education specialists engage children to learn these foundational skills alongside their favorite PBS characters.

Whether it’s through the educational children’s programs that we air on television, our literacy and STEM camps or our community van visits, we are committed to helping Virginia children succeed in their educational journeys. We hope you’ll stop by our tent during the Children’s Festival to say hello and check out our services. There will be a lot of fun happening there all day long -- but a lot of learning will be taking place as well!

Hope you will join us on October 5!