New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced a content partnership with The WNET Group’s Camp TV, a new one-hour public television series that brings the day camp experience to children nationwide weekdays beginning Monday, July 13 on public television (check local listings). In the New York metro area, Camp TV premieres Monday, July 13 at 10 a.m. on WLIW21, 11 a.m. on THIRTEEN, and 12 p.m. on NJTV. Episodes will also be available to stream at camptv.org.

Providing ideas for fun activities to kids who can’t go to camp this summer, Camp TV is hosted by a head counselor played by Zachary Noah Piser, a Broadway performer (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Wicked”) who guides campers as they learn through play.

“During this challenging time, we hope we’re able to bring kids some of the magic, learning and fun of summer camp through Camp TV,” said Neal Shapiro, President & CEO of The WNET Group.

“Public media stations have stepped forward to fill gaps in creative ways to help children learning at home during the pandemic,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “CPB is proud to support this public media effort, which brings the camp experience to children sheltering at home, while also helping to prevent a ‘summer slide’ in student learning.”

“We’re thrilled to contribute to Camp TV’s day camp experience with fun physical activities from Rising New York Road Runners’ Active at Home, our online, video-rich resource bank for families and teachers,” said Jane Benson, Vice President of Youth Programs & Marketing at NYRR. “Active at Home has proven to be a valuable resource in keeping students active and motivated during this pandemic, and we’re excited to support The WNET Group’s ongoing efforts to expand access to educational programming for kids across the country this summer.”

Rising New York Road Runners’ Active at Home platform was designed to continue physical education, and its associated benefits to students’ physical, mental and social-emotional development, from home. Since launching on March 31, 2020, more than 25,000 households have participated in the physical literacy-based activities and games that require no equipment, minimal space, and are safe to practice under social distancing guidelines. 

Resources available on Active at Home include weekly PE classes, activities grouped by age, detailed instructions and photos for parents and educators to help kids with proper form, and an activity tracker. The Platform also features instructional videos led by world class athletes including Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson, five-time Paralympic medalist Rudy Garcia-Tolson, two-time Puerto Rican Olympian Beverly Ramos, and 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials champion Aliphine Tuliamuk. All four athletes will be leading physical fitness activities throughout the Camp TV series.

Head counselor Zach kicks off each episode with a welcome song and announces the day’s theme: silly hat day, camping day, rhyme day, silly sock day, backwards day and more. Zach then guides campers through a variety of activities — exploring nature, math, science, the arts, movement, storytelling, writing and more. For example, kids will learn about surface tension while making bouncing bubbles and discover shapes while creating a flying origami star. They will learn how to do magic tricks, turn sneakers into tap shoes, create an oboe from a straw and make guacamole. They will meet all kinds of animals, from a playful bearcat to chickens who like classical music. Every episode also includes a storytelling segment that features a different book of the day.

Confirmed Camp TV content partners include Bedtime Math, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Chamber Music Society, Children’s Museum of the Arts, Franklin Institute, Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, Let’s Learn NYC!, Liberty Science Center, Lincoln Center   , Macmillan, Memphis Zoo, National Dance Institute, New Victory Theater, New York Botanical Garden, New York Public Library, Playworks, ReadWorks, Story Pirates, and Wildlife Conservation Society. Additional content is provided by teachers who participated in The WNET Group’s NJTV Learning Live series.

Camp TV is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. The program is distributed nationally by The WNET Group. Sandra Sheppard is executive producer. Melinda Toporoff is series producer and writer, Kevin Di Salvo is coordinating producer. Maria Stoian is producer.

Major funding for Camp TV is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by Joan Ganz Cooney.

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About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners.  To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org. 

About WNET

WNET is America’s flagship PBS station: parent company of New York’s THIRTEEN and WLIW21, WLIWWorld and WLIWCreate and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.