{"id":106542,"date":"2026-01-30T15:57:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=106542"},"modified":"2026-01-30T18:09:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:09:36","slug":"tuning-in-to-the-weather-uris-sara-sweetman-sharing-expertise-on-award-winning-pbs-kids-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/tuning-in-to-the-weather-uris-sara-sweetman-sharing-expertise-on-award-winning-pbs-kids-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuning in to the weather: 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Sara Sweetman sharing expertise on award-winning PBS Kids show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 30, 2026 \u2013 Like most Rhode Islanders, 溏心vlog免费B站 environmental education professor Sara Sweetman<\/a> has been watching the weather this winter, and hopes that youth are watching, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A show she is contributing to, Weather Hunters<\/em>, has received the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award from the American Library Association. The PBS KIDS animated STEM series aimed for children ages 5-8 is produced by Al Roker Entertainment, helmed by the Emmy-winning weatherman and beloved TODAY show host. The award is given to the producer of the most distinguished digital media for an early learning audience produced in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Weather Hunters recently won an award from the American Library Association. (Photo courtesy Weather Hunters Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sweetman provides curriculum development and expert review for the show, which is designed to support children learning about Earth science and meteorology through adventure and comedy to cultivate their awareness, curiosity, and interest in how weather impacts individuals, communities, and our global society. And, since the show\u2019s July premiere, young viewers are tuning in to the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An associate professor in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Feinstein College of Education, Sweetman also leads the new environmental education degree program<\/a> at 溏心vlog免费B站, one of a few such degrees in the country, where 溏心vlog免费B站 students engage in place-based education at zoos, aquariums, and nature centers across the region. She also is an advisor for a variety of children\u2019s media, including Sesame Street<\/em> and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot 溏心vlog免费B站 That!,<\/em> where she works with show teams to ensure that content being delivered will provide meaningful learning opportunities for children and their families. She also has played a lead role in the Guiding Education in Math and Science Network (GEMS-Net), a school-university partnership focused on continual improvement in STEM teaching and learning in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweetman describes the team she\u2019s working with on Weather Hunters<\/em> as \u201cpassionate and thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producers WeatherHunters Inc. and Silver Creek Falls Entertainment Inc. are the 2026 recipients of the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award for Weather Hunters<\/em>. The award was announced earlier this week by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, during the ALA\u2019s Youth Media Awards announcements in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weather Hunters<\/em> explores kid-relatable, STEM-based themes and activities, showcasing the wonder and science of weather in ways that are accessible to all learners. Kids can even create their very own weather reports. Characters on the show are voiced by Roker, along with Holly Robinson Peete, Sheryl Lee Ralph, LeVar Burton, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWeather is a great topic to teach science to young learners,\u201d says Sweetman. \u201cBy educating children through media and storytelling we can encourage children to investigate weather phenomena, make sense from data, and take action to prepare and respond as weather interacts with their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 30, 2026 \u2013 Like most Rhode Islanders, 溏心vlog免费B站 environmental education professor Sara Sweetman has been watching the weather this winter, and hopes that youth are watching, too. A show she is contributing to, Weather Hunters, has received the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award from the American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":106543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[30,1908,1913],"class_list":["post-106542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-education","tag-faculty-excellence","tag-public-engagement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106542"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106567,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106542\/revisions\/106567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}