TV Kids Festival Spotlights STEAM Shows

Sesame Workshop’s Susan Scheiner, ZDF Studios’ Oliver Grundel and Bejuba! Entertainment’s Tatiana Kober shared with TV Kids Festival delegates their perspectives on how best to incorporate science, technology, the arts, engineering and math in kids’ shows.

The session, moderated by TV Kids’ Jamie Stalcup, featured Scheiner, director of content at Sesame Workshop; Grundel, Director Junior at ZDF Studios; and Kober, president of Bejuba! Entertainment. It can be viewed here.

“As the world becomes more technologically advanced, there’s a growing need for children to develop skills in science, technology, engineering and math from an early age,” Scheiner said. “TV shows can be a complementary tool to formal education, and encourage curiosity and positive attitudes toward STEM and STEAM subjects at a very early age.”

Grundel agreed, pointing to the “growing recognition of the importance of these skills in the modern world. Fields like science, technology, engineering, math and also arts are quite important because they are connected to the fastest-growing industries in the economy. Parents and educators alike understand that fostering early interest in these areas can contribute to a child’s academic success and to better future career opportunities. In addition to that, as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, I think there’s a desire for content that aligns with educational goals while remaining engaging for young audiences.”

Kober stated that broadcasters are also looking for balance on their slates. “To have that kind of programming that is still fun and interesting to watch just broadens the minds of kids and can be a real hit for the broadcasters too as they move forward.”

While still driven by linear pubcasters, STEAM content is appearing on streaming platforms as well, Grundel said. “I think VOD platforms are interested in having more educational content on their platforms, and it has expanded opportunities for educational programming in many ways. On-demand platforms allow for a more tailored content experience, enabling public broadcasters to reach a wider and more diverse audience. I think there are a lot of opportunities, and this shift has allowed for greater flexibility in the delivery of educational content, which can be tailored to specific age groups and interests. In addition, it opens up new avenues for educational content creators. They can experiment with innovative formats, interactive elements and engaging storytelling.”

Weaving in entertainment is key to the success of STEAM shows, Kober said, “so that the kids don’t ‘smell’ school. STEAM has definitely had an uptick, but I also think it’s still a difficult push sometimes for the more mainstream broadcasters.”

Stalcup then asked how the approaches to incorporating curricula differ across age demos. “I think younger children are more open to receiving educational concepts, while older kids often shift their focus toward entertainment and storytelling,” Grundel said. “Educational components need to be age-appropriate and aligned with the development stage of the target audience.”

Scheiner added, “We, too, try to meet the child where they are developmentally, and we design our goals and our objectives to ensure that the content is age-appropriate.”

Across demos, there are some key tenets, Scheiner added: “simple language, clear visuals and this rule to see it and say it. So, when you see the content, you want to also hear it.”

“In preschool, there are so many shows that incorporate the STEM parts,” Kober observed. “But the 5-to-7 age group is where I think you can have a lot of fun in this area because the kids are still really curious. They’re looking at the shows coming out of preschool, so they’re used to getting a little bit of education, and you can have a lot of fun with it by throwing in little facts. Those are the repeatable moments that you have off-screen that are really important to hammer in the [lessons]. Going higher, the kids are already gravitating to older programming, so it gets a little bit more tricky. But you can still find ways to do it, and having the right consultants on board makes all the difference. And also, the social part of it, because that’s what they’re leaning into more.”

Educational themes can be overt, Scheiner noted. “We start our shows with the educational content. It’s an authentic part of the storyline and the content. We don’t layer it on top of the plot and the story. We really bake it in at the foundation. That way, it feels natural, and it doesn’t feel that we’re just throwing words and concepts at the kids. We really make it an integrated part of the story. And also, it really helps that the children know and love the characters, and they watch because it’s fun. You want to make the education fun, but baked into who the characters and what the storylines are.”

Grundel added, “It’s about finding the delicate balance between education and entertainment. With a show for a very young audience, you can be quite straightforward and explicit. It’s OK to be slightly more on the educational side with some foundational concepts and with interactive elements. As the viewers grow older, it becomes increasingly important to balance that, and weave educational elements more into the storytelling.”

The panelists then weighed in on the crucial need to have educational consultants on board a STEAM show. “You have to have that stamp of authenticity in there,” Kober said. “You need to have the child consultants who are aware of what the kids can handle at that age, how much information you can give them and how to weave it in so that it is part of the entire framework of the series.”

ZDF worked with experts from the German Youth Institute on JoNaLu. “This show aims to promote the language and motor skills of preschool children, and in these cases, involving additional experts can be very useful for specific questions and background knowledge,” Grundel said.

“All of our shows start with educational consultants,” Scheiner said. “We have a department here for education research. We are all developmental psychologists or educators, but none of us are experts in any of these content areas. But we can find whoever is. We look for the people in universities, mostly academics, scientists who can help us design our curriculum so it meets the educational standards and curriculum guidelines within the country and sometimes globally, depending upon what the project is.”

Ancillary materials that help continue the learning journey after the show are also critical. “Kids can go on to the website of the broadcaster or the show,” Kober noted. “If they’re older, they can go on to social media platforms. Our ability to have click-throughs to get more information makes it so exciting. The kids are really lucky these days, where you can watch a show, go to the website, play some games. There’s so much you can do to really build a 360 platform.”

Scheiner added, “Sometimes you can just click and download activity sheets, which is really nice because it can reinforce the individual messages, whatever the show is teaching. Wherever you can have support materials that reinforce the learning and make it fun is great. It just adds to the educational boost.”

Grundel referenced the importance of creating a “holistic educational ecosystem, from TV broadcasting, interactive website, user friendly, captivating storytelling and products like books and audio plays.”