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If you’re between 14-17 years old (or know someone who is) and you love animals, check this out:

Why not be part of Niabi Zoo’s Junior Zookeeper Program. You will get to experience an exciting hands-on opportunity to learn and teach others about amazing animals!

The application process consists of completing a Junior Zookeeper application and composing a 100 word essay on “Why I Would Like To Be a Junior Zookeeper.” All you have to do is submit the application and essay with a letter of reference from a teacher or non-family member. All Junior Zookeepers will be required to attend a week long training camp.

Parents… you can help your son or daughter identify someone who would be willing to write a letter of reference. For more information, call (309) 799-3482, ext. 235 or email ask@niabizoo.com.

Who wants to have some FUN?
Have you heard about the Market Music Fest at The Family Museum in Bettendorf?

Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 22, 8:30am – 5:00pm and get ready for some totally cool music like Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players.

You can also see the awesome dinosaur exhibit, Prehistoric Playground, and participate in fun activities with the Quad City Juggling Club and the Bettendorf Police Explorer Scouts at The Family Museum.

Parents, get your tickets now for the entire family at The Family Museum’s Welcome Desk. The cost is $6.00 per person and kids under two get in for free. There will be food and beverages for sale but you can bring your own refreshments, lawn chairs, and blankets. Call (563) 344-4106 for more details.

Reading is cool and so is our popular program The Electric Company.

For Kids… check out the seriously cool The Electric Company website – with games (be sure to check out “BATTLE” it’s way cool), videos and all your favorite stars from the show. Hours of fun are just waiting for you at The Electric Company’s website.

Watch the Electric Company on WQPT, Monday through Friday at 4:30pm.

For Parents & Teachers… the Electric Company is cool for you too! There’s printable activities, Educator’s Kit and more online at pbs.org/parents/electriccompany.

Dos-a-Dos Books in Studio1… Join our friends at the Figge Art Museum on Saturday, April 24 1:00–2:30pm. Kara Fedje will help kids and parents make fun, fancy “double books” that can be used for journaling, story writing, drawing and more.

Learn more about Family Events at the Figge Art Museum.

Get Movin’ is our local program featuring exercise with local kids… just like you!

We are looking for kids between the ages of 6 and 12 to share with our audience how they keep active. If you water ski, bike ride, run, jump rope, ice skate or anything else that gets you moving, send it to WQPT on a DVD or a mini DV. Your entry will not be returned. Enclose contact information with your entry including your name, address, and phone number and tell us a little bit about yourself.

Click here to learn more.

If you are in kindergarten, first, second or third grade, you are invited to write and illustrate an original story for the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest (formerly Reading Rainbow).

We will choose 16 local winners to be honored at a ceremony in May and win some cool prizes. First place winners will go on to compete in the national contest for computers, cameras and MP3 players. Everyone who participates gets a special certificate from PBS.

So use your imaginations and have fun – just get all the details and entry form at wqpt.org/storycontest. What kind of stories do you like to write?

Do you watch Sesame Street? Do your parents watch Sesame Street? Maybe they watched it when they were kids. Yup, Sesame Street has been around for 40 years – that’s a super long time.

Watch Sesame Street now!

For many kids (and grown ups too), Sesame Street helped us learn our A, B, C’s and lots of other stuff too. Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, Elmo and others teach us all kinds of things. Even First Lady Michelle Obama has been on the program, as well as many other famous people.

Check out the new season – some kids (and grown ups too) think they are never too old for Sesame Street – which is why its one of the most popular tv shows on WQPT.

Watch Sesame Street now!

Learn more about Sesame Street or all of the great programs on WQPT.

WQPT is sponsoring the children’s activities in the new Education Center at Butterworth Center on Sunday, December 6, from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Every year Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House in Moline, IL., host a 19th Century Christmas, featuring trees and decorations reminiscent of yesteryear.  Some of the highlights include a performance by the Moline Boy’s Choir, 1933 Lionel Train display and short video on the history of the houses, produced by WQPT. Celebrate the spirit of the season and bring your family to this free community event!

For more information check out butterworthcenter.com.

Check out the website on PBSKidsGo! and meet the Greens, an entertaining and environmentally-conscious family. It’s a special interactive site that gets kids thinking about green living and making eco-friendly choices.

If you’d like to learn more about being a good citizen of the earth, join WQPT at the Eldridge Branch of the Scott County Library, 220 N. Sixth St., Eldridge, IA. for free green activities on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 2:00 p.m. Jayda B., a Reading Rainbow first place national winner, will also read her original story Gus and the Garbage Mountain.

Let us know what you do to help our world stay green.

Dinosaur Train is seen through the eyes of Buddy, a preschool-aged Tyrannosaurus Rex. Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons go for adventures on theDinosaur Traint to meet all kinds of dinosaurs in different eras and learn fascinating new facts about these incredible creatures.

The new series embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains while encouraging basic scientific thinking and skills as the audience learns about natural science, natural history and paleontology. Dinosaur Train joins other top-ranked PBS KIDS preschool series including The Jim Henson Company’s series SID THE SCIENCE KID, which premiered in fall 2008.

Dinosaur Train airs weekdays at 9:30am.