- [Announcer] Ready to learn?

- [Both] Hi!

- [Announcer] It's time to share a story-- - Shh.

- [Announcer] Read and write.

- Let's read it back.

- [Announcer] Discover science, sing-- ♪ Somewhere - Play, and so much more.

[people stomping] - Cupcake!

- Very good-- - [Announcer] Stay tuned for lessons and activities.

- We're going to start making some words.

Isn't that fun?!

- Mm-hmm!

- [Announcer] Funding for this program was provided by The JPB Foundation.

- Hey, friends!

How are you today?

That's great!

My name's Channing.

What's your name?

It's nice to meet you.

So today I am talking to you from my home in Long Island.

Long Island is an island that is really close to New York City.

Do you know Long Island?

Have you heard of it?

Do you know anyone who lives on Long Island?

Well, now all of you know one person that lives on Long Island; me, Channing!

So, today on Long Island, the weather is really gray and gloomy.

What's the weather like by where you are?

Is it sunny?

Is it gray and gloomy like here?

Hmm!

Thank you for sharing.

So sometimes when it's gray and gloomy and rainy we have to stay inside.

And sometimes it can be really fun to stay inside, and sometimes it can be a little hard.

Right?

So today I wanted to read you a book about a boy who has to stay inside because it's raining.

It's called "Puddle", by Hyewon Yum.

But in this picture, on the cover, does he look like he's inside or outside?

That's right.

He looks like he's outside.

Jumping in a puddle with his dog.

Have you ever jumped in a puddle?

Did you like it?

I am also noticing the buildings on the cover.

I'm wondering, does it look like he lives in a city?

Like New York City?

Yeah.

I think he lives in New York City.

Let's see what happens.

Puddle.

Looks like he's all dressed.

Ready for the rain.

I wonder, do you wear special clothes when you go in the rain?

Yeah?

Ugh, look at his face.

"I hate rainy days," he says.

He does not look happy.

How do you feel when it rains?

Yeah, we can feel lots of different ways when it rains.

"There is nothing to do.

Nothing.

I can't go to the playground.

I can't play soccer.

I can't ride my bike!"

Look how he's sitting.

He is so mad that it's raining and he can't go outside.

How do you feel when you can't go outside?

Sometimes when I can't do something I want to do I like to make a list of all of the things that I like to do.

I wonder if you could make a list, or if you could draw a picture of what you'd like to do when you go outside?

"'Don't be so grumpy,' says his mom.

We can have fun at home.

Do you want to draw?'

'No!

I do not want to draw.

I'll never draw.'"

Oh, he is so upset, and so angry.

"Okay.

I'll draw by myself."

So his mom's going to start to draw.

I wonder what she's going to draw.

What do you think?

I'm also noticing he's not looking so angry anymore.

He's looking curious.

He's wondering what his mom is going to draw.

Let's find out.

"'[gasps] Ta-da!

It's a blue umbrella.'

'That's my blue umbrella.

Can you draw me holding it?'"

Looks like his cat is also curious about the blue umbrella.

Again, he's not looking so angry anymore.

"'There!'

his mom said.

'But where are you?

I don't want to go out all alone.'

'Okay, I'll draw me next to you.'

'And draw Billy, too.'"

Billy is his dog.

"It's a tricky one.

And I don't like wet dog smell."

His mom does not like wet dog smell.

Have you ever smelled a wet dog?

Yeah, they can be pretty stinky.

"Mom, please?"

He's asking nicely.

"'Thanks mom.

But there's no rain.'

'Right.

Why don't you draw the rain?'

'Okay, I'm really good at this.

Look!'"

Hmm, he thinks that he's really good at drawing rain.

I wonder what you're really good at.

Yeah!

Could you draw what you're really good at?

Or could you write about what you're really good at?

I think you can!

"'Oh, no!

It's pouring!'

'I know, it's very windy.

Hold the umbrella really tight.'"

Look at what's happening in this picture.

I wonder by looking at the picture, how you can tell it's really windy.

That's right!

Because of the way they're walking, their heads are down, their umbrella over their head, and the rain is going like this, which tells you that there must be wind blowing the rain.

Have you ever been caught in a rainstorm?

What'd you do?

That was good thinking.

You guys are so smart.

"'[gasps] What's that?'

'It's a puddle.'"

[gasps] Look.

Mom doesn't look so sure about that puddle, right?

He looks pretty excited about that puddle.

What do you think he's going to do to that puddle?

Hmm!

Those are some good guesses.

Let's see what happens!

[gasps] You were right.

He's going to jump in the puddle and the mom is saying, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Uh!

Why do you think she doesn't want him to jump in the puddle?

Hmm!

Let's see.

You were right!

Because when he jumps in the puddle, everybody's going to get wet.

And now, look, now he's so happy.

Remember at the beginning?

How did he feel at the beginning of the story?

That's right.

He was really mad and angry that he had to stay inside.

But now he's really happy.

How's Mom feeling?

Yeah, she doesn't look so happy.

"I said not to go in there.

Now you're all wet, and I am too."

Let's remember, is this real or pretend?

Are they outside in the real rain?

"Mom, it's just a picture.

Don't get mad."

You guys were right.

It's just pretend, they're in a picture.

They're pretending, they're drawing being outside.

"Don't do that, Billy!"

Do you see what the dog is doing?

"Mom!"

The dog is shaking and shaking.

Have you ever been around a wet dog?

When it shakes like that, it's trying to get all of the water off of it.

That's one way that it helps to stay dry.

Uh, and mom remembers!

"'Don't get mad!

It's just a picture, you know.'

'This is fun!

Can we go for a real walk?'

'Why not?

We have raincoats, rain boots, and umbrellas.'"

Hmm, she says, "We have raincoats, rain boots, and umbrellas."

Why might she say that if they're going for a walk in the rain?

That's right, 'cause those things help you keep dry when you're walking in the rain.

[gasps] Now they're really outside!

Oh!

And they see a puddle!

But look at his face.

He's getting ready to do something that he's excited to do, but he knows maybe he shouldn't do.

And Mom, how is she looking?

That's right.

She's looking a little worried.

I think she's worried that he's going to jump in the puddle, and now it's for real, right?

For real.

They're not drawing a picture anymore.

Splash!

Uh!

But now everybody looks happy about jumping in the puddle.

The end!

- Hi, movers and shakers!

We're going to sing one of my favorite songs, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

And this time, my friend, Resak, is going to help us by singing in Somali.

You can sing in whatever language you want.

I'm going to sit up straight.

You can sit up straight on the floor, or you can stand up to do this.

Whatever you want.

Are you ready?

♪ Head shoulders knees and toes ♪ ♪ Knees and toes ♪ Head shoulders knees and toes ♪ ♪ Knees and toes ♪ Eyes and ears and mouth and nose ♪ ♪ Head shoulders knees and toes ♪ ♪ Knees and toes [man singing in Somali] ♪ Eyes and ears and mouth and nose ♪ ♪ Head shoulders knees and toes ♪ ♪ Knees and toes Thank you!

[bright upbeat music] [xylophone dinging] - [Both] Choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo.

Hi!

- My name is Ms. Simmons, and this is my son-- - Alex!

- And I'm a universal literacy coach here in Staten Island's PS58.

I help support readers just like you.

And today we're going to be looking at two ways that A can say-- - [Both] [yells] A!

- So let's get comfortable!

- And go to our thinking space!

- [laughs] See you later, Alex.

- Bye!

Chugga, chugga-- - [Both] Choo, choo, chug, choo, choo.

- Are you comfortable?

Good!

Me, too!

So, we are thinking about how to get A to say, "A!"

That's right!

We're gonna use [xylophone dinging] two vowel teams to help us.

A-I can say, "A."

And A-Y can say, "A".

Let's look at them in words!

A-I and A-Y are actually vowel teams.

These two letters, A and I, work together to say one sound.

They're actually two vowels that work to say one sound.

So A and I together say, "A".

In A-Y they're also two vowels.

In this case, the Y is acting as a vowel, and they work together to say, "A."

Just that one sound.

Let's look at this word; the word is main.

Main.

Here's how we would spell that word; Main.

Main can mean the most important choice.

My main choice.

Main.

Look inside.

I see the A and the I.

This is very important because the A and the I can only be found as a vowel team in either the beginning of the word, or the middle, like right here.

You're never going to see A-I as the vowel team that ends a word that says, "A."

Most words do not end in the letter I, that is why.

Can you help me tap and say this word?

Main.

Main.

Your turn!

Good job!

Now, let's build another word together.

The word I want to build is, play.

Let's tap that out.

Play.

Well, I know that that A is the last sound I hear.

And that means I only have one choice when I am building this word.

P- L- and, A-Y!

That's right!

That's the only choice I have for building this word.

It's at the end.

So it has to end, I hear the long A sound, A, I have my choice, A-I or A-Y.

It has to end in A-Y.

Many words that end in that long A sound, are actually ending in A-Y!

Cool, right?

When you see words that have vowel teams in them, they're actually their own special syllable type.

This is the vowel team syllable type.

Some people call it the double vowel syllable type.

[piano keys sliding] And now, we're going to play a game!

We're going to listen to some words, and our job is going to be to figure out, should we use [dramatic music] A-I or A-Y!

Think about what we know about those two vowel teams that both say, "A".

A-I can only happen at the beginning and the middle of words.

A-Y can only happen at the end.

[explosion sounding] Remember that.

The first word I am going to say is this one; wait.

Wait!

Did you hear the A?

You did?!

Was it in the beginning?

Was it in the middle?

Good!

So we should use A-I!

[children cheering] Let's tap and say this word.

Ready?

Wait.

Wait!

Let's try another one!

The next word is, pay!

Pay.

The A comes at the end!

What should we use?

A-Y!

Pay.

Pay.

What's the word?

Do you have my money?

Just kidding, just kidding.

Now we are going to use everything we know about letters and sounds, and A-I that says, "A", and A-Y that says, "A", to read words we haven't seen before!

Are you ready?

Let's go!

I'm going to point, you're going to say.

So I'm going to tap, and you're going to say, and then I'll tap and say right after you, just to give you that extra special support.

[camera clicking] Let's go!

My turn.

Ran.

Together?

Ran!

Good.

Rain.

Rain!

Plan.

Plan.

Good.

Plain.

Plain.

Plain!

Good job!

A plain is a flat, grassy area.

Let's do another one.

Sad.

Sad!

Say.

Say!

Good job!

Next up, let's try some dictation!

Are you ready?

Please make sure you get a pencil, or something to write with, and a paper, or something to write on.

I'm going to call Alex back, and we're going to tell each other a couple of riddles.

And the big clue is that they have one of our vowel teams in the answer.

Okay, Alex, what's the first riddle?

- It comes down, but it never comes up.

What is it?

- I don't know!

What is it?

- Rain!

- Rain!

[graphics zooming] I've got one.

This kind of coat you can only put on when it's wet.

What is it?

- Hmm, I don't know!

- A coat of paint!

Get it!

[children cheering] Oo!

For our dictation, I'm going to say the word, you're going to repeat the word, we'll tap the word out, or tap the word out, however you'd like to tap, and then we're going to write it down.

You'll write it first.

Then I'll write it, and you'll check your work.

Are you ready?

Good!

The first word is, pain.

Like I hurt my ankle and now I have a pain.

Pain.

Let's tap!

Pain.

Pain!

Remember the A is in the middle.

Go ahead and write.

Good!

Tell me what to write!

Puh, P, A, A, I, right?

Good!

N. Pain!

Is this what you wrote?

Let's try another one!

The next word is day.

Day.

[gasps] Oh that's at the end!

Go ahead and write it now.

Exactly!

Go ahead, tell me.

D, okay, A, A.

Is this what you wrote?

All right!

Let's try another one!

The last word is sway.

Sway means to rock back and forth, sway.

Let's tap it.

Sway.

Sway.

Go ahead and write that down now.

The A is at the end, what do we know about that A sound?

[whispers] Ah-ha!

Exactly.

First letter, S, W, A at the end is A, Y!

Good job!

[children cheering] You did a great job today!

Now for our last activity today, we are going to read a story together.

The story is called, "The Rain".

Rain?

Hmm.

I think we need something for our mood.

[Isabel snapping] [rainfall] That's it.

"Oh, no!

What a pain!

What do I see?

Rain!

The sky is gray.

The day may not see the rays of the sun.

All I can do is wait."

You missed it!

We just read a story about your favorite subject in the entire world.

- Hmm, what was it?

- Rain.

[Alex laughing] [Alex sighing] That's really not his favorite subject.

[both laughing] Do you remember the story, "The Rain"?

- Yes, I do!

- Do you think the sun's ever going to come out again?

- Yes.

- What do you guys think?

Did you have fun learning about the two ways to say A?

A-Y and-- - [Both] A-I?!

- We did!

Well, we'll see you again next time!

- [Both] Bye!

[bright upbeat music] [Doris laughing] - My name is Doris.

My husband, David, and I, we have two children, Dalia and Daniel.

- Fun.

[soft guitar music] - [laughs] Go for it.

Our hope for our children is that they are happy, confident, and caring, so that they can thrive in school and in life.

[children chattering] [Doris exclaiming] When I became a mother, it was very important for my children to be able to name and express their feelings, so that they can better deal with their emotions.

Remember these?

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah!

- When my children were very young we started using picture books as tools to identify emotions within characters.

Sometimes I'll ask them questions to help them begin to identify their feelings for themselves.

I see a sad face, is that right?

- Mm-hmm.

- [Doris] If they can connect to their own feelings, then they can connect to others' feelings.

- They only had a little-- - We make time daily to ask questions and practice listening.

- How was your day, Daddy?

- Oh, my day was amazing, Daniel.

- [Doris] And I think it just really shows them how to be a good friend, and the importance of thinking of others.

- Congratulations, Daniel.

- [Doris] Tapping into feelings has helped my children with confidence and self-awareness.

At school they know how to manage feelings as they come up, so that they can focus on learning.

- All right, so have a good day in school.

- Okay.

- Okay?

[upbeat guitar music] - Hi everyone!

My name is Ms. Davis!

Today, we're going to be learning about pattern.

I'm going to be talking with you about many different ways to make a pattern.

Did you know that you can use colors, shapes, numbers, food, you can even use your whole body to make a pattern.

That's right!

So let's go check out some fun ways we can make a pattern together.

So if we look, we have orange triangle, blue circle, orange triangle, blue circle, orange triangle, blue circle, orange triangle, blue circle.

This is a pattern.

The orange triangle and the circle was used to create the pattern.

And all we did was repeat; triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle circle.

Just like the other pattern we looked at, we have another pattern here.

But this time, instead of using shapes, we're using numbers.

This is the number one.

This right here, this is the number two.

So let's use these numbers to make a pattern.

Let's look!

One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one.

We use the numbers one and two to create the pattern.

Great!

So now that we've seen what patterns look like, let's take a minute and read a quick little poem about patterns.

Patterns are fun, you can make a ton.

Some even start with the number one.

Show me how many you can get done.

Let's try making some patterns on our own.

What we're going to do now is make patterns with our body.

It's called pattern pump up.

So get ready, get pumped, and get ready to move.

Please find an area in your home where you won't get hurt.

Find one area where there's lots of space for you to move around.

I'll give you one minute, and then I'll tell you the first pattern we're going to do together.

[calming piano music] Okay.

So the first pattern pump up that we're going to do is body pattern, A, B.

So what we're repeating is A, B.

So if we read our pattern, it looks like this.

A-B, A-B, A-B, A-B, A-B.

Okay?

So let me show you what A is.

For the A, we are going to use our arms.

You're going to pump your arms up two times, like this; one, two.

That's A.

Try it again.

One, two.

That's A!

And B, you're going to use your knees.

You're gonna pump your knees up three times.

Let's practice; One, two, three!

Let's practice again.

One, two, three!

All right.

Are you ready to do the A-B pattern with me?

Let's go!

All right, guys, here we go!

Remember A?

Okay, and this was B, one, two, three.

Now let's put it together for our body pattern.

Here we go.

A!

B!

A!

B!

A!

B!

A!

A!

B!

A!

B!

Good job!

You did it!

Nice work, guys.

All right, let's check out pattern pump up number two.

Let's try to make body pattern A-B-C, A-B-C, A-B-C.

So, A is clap three times [claps].

B movement is shake your hips from side to side three times.

So, side, side, side.

And C movement is squat your legs two times.

All right, here we go.

Let's get ready to do the A-B-C body pattern with me.

Okay, guys, we're going to get ready for body pattern number two.

All right?

Remember, it's A, B, C. A, clap three times.

B, shake your hips three times.

And C, squat two times.

So it looks like this [claps].

That's how you put it together.

Try it with me, let's do the whole body pattern.

A, B, C. A, B, C. [Ms. Davis clapping] [happy guitar music] [Ms. Davis clapping] [yells] Good job!

Let's keep going!

Here we go [claps]!

[guitar music continues] [Ms. Davis clapping] One more time [claps].

You did it!

Those are body patterns!

So proud of you.

Good job!

Two thumbs up.

Okay, guys, great job with the pattern pump up.

You did so awesome, I'm so proud of you.

I don't know about you, but I worked up an appetite.

So I need a little snack now.

While we were doing our body pattern, my friend made these fruit skewers for me, with all of my favorite healthy fruit.

I have some strawberries and blueberries.

Let's check out the pattern.

Strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, strawberry!

This is so easy.

So I have two fruit skewers, and I need you to help me make two more.

What fruit do I start with first?

Hmm.

Well, the pattern starts and ends with strawberry.

So I'm thinking strawberry, were you?!

So I carefully take my fruit skewer, and I put a strawberry.

I hold it up, does it match?

Yeah!

We're on the right track.

So after strawberry, let's look, what comes next?

Blueberry.

And how many blueberries am I going to put?

Two.

So let me take one, slide it all the way down, two!

And if this happens, it's okay, just rip it off.

I have my two blueberries.

Let's look; strawberry, blueberry, blueberry.

Let's check if we did it correctly.

Strawberry, strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, blueberry, blueberry.

What comes next?

[gasps] Strawberry!

So I'm going to take my strawberry, I'm going to carefully put it on my skewer.

Strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, strawberry, blueberry, blueberry.

Good!

Now let's check our work!

Does it match?

Yes.

Let's keep going.

Strawberry, blueberry, blueberry, strawberry, blueberry, blueberry.

What's next?

[gasps] Strawberry!

And what do you think comes after that strawberry?

Blueberry.

And how many?

That's right, two blueberries.

So I'm just going to slide them down so everything can fit.

And, my last piece, put a blueberry.

So here we go.

Does it match?

Did we do it correctly?

If I line it up, everything should be the same.

We repeated our pattern, and we have a nice healthy snack to eat.

Mm!

This is delicious.

So, that's right, you can make patterns with your body, you can make patterns with healthy snacks, and you can look for patterns.

Patterns are everywhere.

That's right, guys, patterns are all around us.

You might notice it the next time you play with your toys.

You might notice it in your jewelry.

You might notice it at items, like the couch, or your clothes, or fruit at home.

And you might even notice it in nature!

All right, guys, thank you for joining me today!

And remember to keep an eye out for patterns.

See you next time!

- Hi, my name is Fabio, and today we're here to talk about feelings.

But first, I want you to meet my friend, Piggy.

He will help us to understand what a feeling is.

Let me call him!

Piggy!

Piggy!

- Here I am!

Hi friends, my name is Piggy.

- Hi, Piggy!

How are you?

How do you feel today?

- I feel happy, do you know why?

- Why?!

- Because I see lots of friends on TV!

- Yes, yes, they are here because they want to learn about feelings.

Piggy, do you know what a feeling is?

- Yes.

Feelings are the reactions and sensations that you have in your body when something happens.

- Oh, I see.

So that means that my body reacts differently with different feelings?

- That's right, Fabio.

For example, how do you feel when you cannot go to the park, or when you cannot watch TV?

- Oh, I feel sad!

I like to go to the park to play with my friends!

- I can see it!

Your face is telling me that you're sad, because you have a frown, the corners of your mouth are turning down, and your eyes are looking down.

[Fabio sniffling] Sometimes we can even get teary eyes, and cry.

And our voice volume is low.

- Yes, Piggy, you are right.

And that makes sense.

That tells me when I'm feeling sad.

- But, Fabio, do you know that feelings can change?

- No!

- Yes!

For example, how do you feel when you get your favorite treat, like an ice cream?

- Oh, I feel happy.

Especially when it's a chocolate ice cream.

I love chocolate ice cream!

- I see you smiling.

Your face is telling me you're happy because you have a smile, and I can see your teeth.

Sometimes we can jump, and our voice volume gets high!

- Okay, okay!

Thank you, Piggy, for that explanation.

So friends, next time that something happens to you, pay attention to your body, because it will give you clues about how you are feeling.

Right, Piggy?

- That's right!

- Oh, okay.

I see.

Hmm, so let me see if I understand; so today we talk about two feelings, sad and happy.

When I feel sad, my eyes look down, and I may cry [sniffs].

Right, Piggy?

- That's right!

- Okay.

But feelings change!

So when I feel happy, I smile and I may jump because I'm happy.

- You got it!

Great job!

[Fabio clapping] - Thank you, Piggy, thank you.

So let's see if our friends can make a happy face.

Everyone, smile!

- Smile, cheese!

- Piggy, do you see them?

- They're all smiling!

- They are smiling.

- Yay!

Great job, Fabio.

- Oh, thank you so much, Piggy.

Thank you so much, friends.

And I hope Piggy and I were able to help you recognize when you are feeling happy, and when you are feeling sad.

We will see you next time!

Bye-bye!

- Bye!

[happy upbeat music] [Doris laughing] - [Doris] My name is Doris-- [voiceover speaks in foreign language] - Fun.

[soft guitar music] - [laughs] Go for it.

[voiceover speaking in foreign language] [children chattering] [Doris yelling] [voiceover speaking in foreign language] - Remember these?

- Yeah!

- Mm-hmm.

[voiceover speaking in foreign language] - I see a sad face, is that right?

- Mm-hmm.

[voiceover speaking in foreign language] - How was your day, Daddy?

- Oh, my day was amazing, Daniel.

[voiceover speaking in foreign language] - Congratulations, Daniel.

[voiceover speaking in foreign language] - So have a good day in school.

- Okay.

- Okay?

[happy upbeat music] - Hi everyone!

I'm Nikki-- And I'm Max.

- And this is Poppy!

Poppy is a binturong, also called a bearcat, even though she's not a bear or a cat.

But they are very unique animals.

Let's learn what makes a binturong special, the job that they do, and ways that we can help them.

We're here in one of the classrooms at the Memphis Zoo, which is a great place for kids to learn, and also a great place for our animals to learn.

Poppy's been here at the zoo for most of her life, but she's still really young.

She was born in September.

[laughs] She's learning how to be an ambassador, which means learning how to come out and be comfortable meeting all kinds of people, to help spread the word about binturongs and ways that we can help them.

So you're going to get to see us do some training with her, do some playing with her, and just see Poppy show her stuff of being an excellent binturong.

[playful upbeat music] - Poppy here is actually only about eight months old, and she weighs about 12 pounds, which is the equivalent of a gallon of paint.

Now, Poppy here is actually going to get a lot bigger.

She's only eight months, as I just mentioned, but binturongs can live up to 15 years, and get up to 75 pounds.

Which, for an animal that spends most of their time climbing up in the trees, is pretty heavy.

- I did up, and then I tried to do, wave!

Oh, good girl, you did it!

Oh my gosh [laughs]!

Playing is really fun for our animals, and it's important.

Play is just as important for the animals here at the zoo as they are for you guys there at home!

So we want to make sure that our animals get to be physically active, their brains get to work, and having a good time with their keepers is a great way to do that.

- As you can tell here, being an animal that lives, or spends most of its time, up in the trees, you gotta be able to climb around those trees pretty well.

And that's helpful when you have very sharp claws like Poppy the binturong here, and if you have a prehensile tail.

Now for those of you that don't know what a prehensile tail is, it's a tail that helps to grab on to things to give them balance when they're up in the trees.

And the word prehensile is basically finger, it's a finger-like tail.

Lots of monkeys have this, lots of, oh, thank you for helping, lots of possums have this as well.

[Nikki laughing] And binturongs are actually the largest animal that have the prehensile tail.

So when they're hanging out in the trees and they see a piece of fruit they really want to reach, they can grab onto a branch and lean even further to get that delicious, delicious food.

- [Nikki] [laughs] They love to om, nom, nom anything they can find, from eggs, to lizards, to plants, to shoots-- - [Max] Even grapes!

- Even grapes.

In fact, fruit is their very favorite food.

Most of their diet is made up of fruit.

And that's really helpful for the rainforest where they live.

When binturongs eat the fruit, they also eat the seed, and then, a little bit later, it comes out the other side in a nice little fertilizer packet.

Which means that that seed is spread somewhere else in the forest where it can grow nice and healthy.

So binturongs are what are known as seed dispersers, they're super important because they're kind of like nature farmers.

They help spread plants around, and keep them healthy and growing in new places in the forest.

So Max, a lot of people want to know if she's not a bear or a cat, why are binturongs called bearcats?

- Well, a lot of people think that they look like a combination between a bear, due to this really big, fuzzy fur that they have, and these short ears they have on their head, and a cat, based on their very long tail.

But they're not related to bears or cats.

They're from a separate group of animals called viverrids.

Another question that people like to ask is do they really smell like movie popcorn?

- I don't know, smell her!

[Max sniffing] What's the verdict?

I think she smells like Fritos.

- [Max] She smells more, like, maybe just the butter part, not so much the popcorn part-- - [Nikki] I don't know what kind of butter you're eating, it's definitely a corn chip flavor.

[Nikki laughing] - What would be the benefit of smelling like Fritos, then?

- Binturongs are solitary in the wild, which means they like to live by themselves, but it's still important for them to be able to talk to each other and communicate.

And the way they do that is through that smell.

They have scent glands at the base of their tail and on their feet, that allows them to mark where they've been to say, "Hey, other binturongs, I'm here in the forest.

I'm around.

If you want to hang out, cool, otherwise, I'm going to be over here by myself, eating some fruit."

- [Max] Now, a lot of people also ask with that big, bushy fur coat, what does she feel like?

What do you think she feels like, Nikki?

- Well, she is a little bit coarse, but she's still pretty soft.

Those furs that she has on her back are really thick.

It allows her to have lots of protection as she's climbing around through those trees.

- Do they bite?

And here at the Memphis Zoo, we like to say that anything with a mouth can bite.

And she does have very sharp teeth because she is an omnivore, so she does eat fruit, but has proteins, like bugs, and sometimes small rodents as well.

So, sharp teeth, she can bite.

Has she ever bitten us out of aggression?

No, she does not.

However, we make sure that we respect her body language, and never put her in a situation that would stress her out or make her scared as well.

I think that is going to wrap it up for our creature feature today.

But I want to thank you all so much for joining us.

Let's take a quick moment to review some of the things that we learned today.

First we learned about binturongs and their lifestyles.

We learned that they're arboreal animals that like to live in various countries in Southeast Asia.

And they have a really important role for helping the forest and the vegetation there to grow, because they love to eat fruits, since they are omnivores, and they poop out those seeds and cause those seeds to grow into more plants and trees.

And lastly, and most importantly, we learned that we can help animals, not just across the world, but in your own neighborhood, by doing little things at home.

- Thank you all for joining us to learn all about these really unique animals that have super important jobs, and ways that you all can help them at home.

- My name is Liz, and this is my friend, Sylvia.

Sylvia is an owl.

Owls are a really important part of our ecosystem, and helping our feathered friends can start right at home.

Owls are birds, so that means that they have feathers.

They are one of the only animals that have feathers, which makes them pretty unique.

An owl's feathers are serrated at the end, kind of like a knife.

So everybody hold their hands up, we're going to look silly for a minute.

Now, take your hand, and with a flat hand, you're going to wave it past your ear.

Do you hear that noise?

That's what most birds sound like.

But when an owl flies, their feathers are serrated.

So everybody opened their hand, you're going to do it again.

Do you hear that difference?

That helps them sneak up on their prey in the darkness.

Sylvia is a barred owl.

Now they get that name from the bars on their tummy.

And those bars can act as a camouflage for them to hide in the trees.

So this is Maggie.

Maggie is a 20-year-old barn owl.

Now, that's pretty old for an owl.

They get that name, barn owl, because they mostly spend all of their time in abandoned buildings, and, you guessed it, barns.

Owls are nocturnal, which means they spend most of their time awake at night time.

Now hunting at night can be kind of a challenge, because it's really hard to see.

Now they have a few adaptations that help them hunt at night.

The first would be their eyes.

Now, their eyes aren't exactly like mine or yours, but instead they're really long and shaped like a barrel.

Now that helps them see really far away, but it doesn't allow their eyes to look around like mine or yours.

Instead, they have to turn their head to look.

Now, they can't turn their heads all the way around, but they can turn it almost all the way around, about 270 degrees.

The one distinct feature you may notice about Maggie is her facial disc.

It kind of looks like a heart.

Now, other than looking really cute, it actually helps her hunting at nighttime.

So, when she's looking around for prey, although she does have good eyesight, her hearing is what she mostly relies on.

So when she hears something, that facial disc will actually funnel all of the sound directly to her ears.

Now, her ears are a little cattywankus, and by that I mean, one's a little lower, and one's going to be a little higher, and that will help her triangulate exactly where her prey is in complete darkness.

Now, owls are carnivores, which means that they eat meat.

Their beaks are specialized to act like scissors, and they can rip and tear at meat.

They also have really long nails, or what we like to call talons.

That helps them in hunting, so when they fly down they can grab their prey, and their prey does not get away from them.

Now, I said they helped our ecosystem, and they do!

Rats and mice are a big part of their diet.

And those animals can cause damage to not only your house, but the crops that we need to survive.

So owls help by keeping those rodent numbers down.

As you can see, Sylvia is very playful.

At the zoo, we like to give them lots of enrichment, so they can do natural behaviors that they would do out in the wild.

Here are some common questions we get here at the zoo about owls.

"Do owls make nests?"

No, they don't.

They may be great hunters, but they are not good nest builders.

So instead, they make their homes in small cavities of trees and in buildings, or they will steal other birds' nests.

[happy upbeat music] "Where are owls found?"

Owls are found on every continent, except Antarctica.

It's just a little too cold for them there.

"Can owls turn their head all the way around?"

They can't turn their head all the way around, but they can turn it 270 degrees, which is pretty far.

"Can I have an owl as a pet?"

Having an owl as a pet is not a good idea, and you actually have to have a license to even rehab owls.

Owls need very specific diets, and a very specific place to live, and lots of room to fly.

"Can owls bite?"

We get that question with almost every single animal.

And my answer is, anything with a mouth can bite.

Now here at the zoo, our animals are comfortable with us, so they don't feel the need to bite.

"What should I do if I find an owl on the side of the road?"

There are lots of rehabbers out there that you can call, or you can even call your local game warden.

Now, Maggie and Sylvia both came to us for different reasons.

When Maggie hatched, she actually imprinted on a human, so she was never going to be able to be released into the wild.

So she came here at a very young age, and has been an ambassador since.

Now, Sylvia is a wild bird, but she actually had a foot injury and could not be released.

So she came here to the zoo to join our ambassador collection.

Helping owls, and all animals, can start at home.

But the little things you can do for our feathered friends are; at night, turn your lights off.

Remember, owls are nocturnal, and they feel more comfortable in the dark.

And it also helps them hunt a little bit easier.

Another thing you could do is stop using pesticides.

I know rats and mice aren't what you want around your house, but when you use pesticides and a rat eats that, what do you think eats a rat?

Exactly, an owl.

And, in turn, owls can become poisoned themselves.

Another thing you can do is tell your friends about owls.

Spreading awareness is the best thing you can do.

Remember, there's animals all over the world, but even the animals in your own backyard need help.

Thanks for watching.

[happy upbeat music] - [Announcer] Funding for this program was provided by The JPB Foundation.

[happy upbeat music continues] [bold orchestral music]