BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: T is for Television

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: T is for Television:

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Description of Pictures: T is for Television
November 27, 2017 – September 4, 2018
From the earliest days of television to today, performers and producers have created beloved characters that teach children about getting along with others and understanding the world around them. This exhibition features treasured objects from The Mickey Mouse Club, Captain Kangaroo, Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, while exploring the history of making children’s television both educational and entertaining.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIAHTV_180609_01.JPG: Mr. Do-Bee costume around 1960s "Do be" and "don't be" was the guidance offered on Romper Room, demonstrated by the mascot Mr. Do-Bee. He taught children manners and good behavior.
2. SIAHTV_180609_14.JPG: Romper Room 1953-1994 Nancy and Bert Claster developed Romper Room as a "televised kindergarten" to teach young children manners and life skills in an entertaining clubhouse format. The show premiered in Baltimore in 1953 and featured games, songs, skits, activities, and moral lessons. The Clasters franchised the show to local television stations across the country, with each show hosted by a different young woman.
3. SIAHTV_180609_16.JPG: Romper Room Do Bees; A Book of Manners around 1956 Inexpensive and popular Little Golden Books have entertained children since 1942. This Romper Room book reinforced the show's lessons in manners.
4. SIAHTV_180609_18.JPG: T is for Television Children's television should be both educational and entertaining. Since Americans first brought televisions into their homes, performers and producers have created beloved characters that teach children about getting along with others and understanding the world. Adults increasingly voiced concerns about what children learn spending hours in front of TV screens and by the 1960s began to push for greater emphasis on education. Some of the most successful series, from the early days of television to today, have deftly combined lessons and laughter.
5. SIAHTV_180609_21.JPG: Television Succeeds and Sells In the 1950s performers adapted existing forms of children's entertainment to the new medium of television. Puppet shows, circus clown acts, and animated movies inspired popular programs and characters. Capitalizing on their success, early innovators created mountains of merchandise to market to children, sparking fears about television's impact on impressionable young minds.
6. SIAHTV_180609_23.JPG: Toy marionette, around 1950s This toy was one of hundreds of licensed Howdy Doody products produced during the show's run.
7. SIAHTV_180609_25.JPG: The Howdy Doody Show, 1947–1960 The freckle-faced cowboy Howdy Doody was one of American television's first stars -- quite an honor for a marionette! The creation of "Buffalo" Bob Smith, Howdy and his friends lived in the town of Doodyville and performed before a gallery of children. The show was merchandized with various toys, books, and games featuring its characters, which became a model for television shows that followed.
8. SIAHTV_180609_26.JPG: Mouseketeer hat, around 1950s Mouseketeer Lonnie Burr wore this hat as an original Mickey Mouse Club cast member from 1955 to 1958. Mousegetar, 1958 Mattel manufactured this toy version of the guitar Mickey Mouse Club host Jimmie Dodd played on the show. Gift of Brian M. Bailey
9. SIAHTV_180609_28.JPG: Howdy Doody TV game, around 1955 This Milton Bradley board game features characters Howdy, Clarabell the Clown, Dilly Dally, and Flub-a-Dub.
10. SIAHTV_180609_30.JPG: The Mickey Mouse Club, 1955–1958 Walt Disney's first children's television program was a variety show for kids, featuring a cast of youngsters who sang, danced, and acted in skits alongside Mickey Mouse cartoons. The show aired to promote Disney merchandise and properties, including Disneyland, and was revived in the 1970s and 1990s.
11. SIAHTV_180609_32.JPG: Mickey Mouse Club lunch box, 1963 Due to audience demand, The Mickey Mouse Club aired in syndication through the 1960s and merchandise remained popular.
12. SIAHTV_180609_36.JPG: Howdy Doody merchandise catalog, 1955 "The super-popular salesman on strings . . . has become an American Institution," according to this catalog of merchandise featuring Howdy Doody.
13. SIAHTV_180609_38.JPG: Howdy Doody's Lucky Trip, 1953 Inexpensive and popular Little Golden Books have entertained children since 1942. In this book, Howdy goes on vacation and catches robbers with his friends Dilly Dally and Flub-a-Dub.
14. SIAHTV_180609_45.JPG: Lab coat and bow tie, around 1990s Bill Nye, a comedian and engineer, dressed the part of the laboratory scientist with his lab coat and signature bow ties. Gift of Bill Nye
15. SIAHTV_180609_47.JPG: Daytime Emmy Award, 1998 Bill Nye the Science Guy won nineteen Emmy Awards during its five-season run. Gift of Bill Nye
16. SIAHTV_180609_50.JPG: Bill Nye the Science Guy, 1993–1998 Engineer and comedian Bill Nye developed a fast-paced, humorous science education program for Seattle public television in 1993. Still struggling to meet the educational requirements of the 1990 Children's Television Act, networks picked up Bill Nye the Science Guy. The show won acclaim for its entertaining approach to science education.
17. SIAHTV_180609_56.JPG: Television Must Teach By the late 1960s groups like ACT (Action for Children's Television) began to question television's impact on children. New programming, especially public television series like Sesame Street, pioneered new ways to entertain and educate youngsters. Following years of criticism and activism, in 1990 Congress passed the Children's Television Act, requiring television stations to air a number of hours of educational programming for children. New television programs taught life skills like inclusion and kindness, and some inspired kids to discover science and technology.
18. SIAHTV_180609_58.JPG: Grover puppet, around 1967 Grover, originally brown before changing to blue in 1970, loves to help people ut sometimes gets overwhelmed.
19. SIAHTV_180609_61.JPG: Prairie Dawn puppet, around 1990s Prairie Dawn is a seven-year-old Muppet girl with big dreams. She learns about life while working on pageants and playing piano.
20. SIAHTV_180609_65.JPG: Sesame Street, 1969–present Sesame Street premiered in 1969 and has won accolades for its innovative approach to educational television. The nonprofit Children's Television Workshop designed Sesame Street for underserved viewers who might not attend preschool. The show's diverse cast of live actors joined Muppets to teach the basics of reading, writing, math, and life skills.
21. SIAHTV_180609_76.JPG: Captain Kangaroo 1955-1984 Bob Keeshan entertained generations of Americans and Captain Kangaroo. He modeled the character and program on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children," and filled his program with diverse characters who taught children to be kind and respectful. Keeshan took pains to separate advertising from the show, requiring "bumpers," or brief announcements before commercials.
22. SIAHTV_180609_77.JPG: Captain Kangaroo book, 1956 Books and other Captain Kangaroo merchandise encouraged children to use their imagination at playtime.
23. SIAHTV_180609_81.JPG: Captain Kangaroo jacket, shirt, and tie, around 1955 The name Captain Kangaroo was a reference to the deep pockets in Keeshan's suit jacket, similar to a kangaroo's pouch.
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2018 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Trips this year: Civil War Trust conferences in Greenville, NC, Newport News, VA, and my farewell event with them in Chicago, IL (via sites in Louisville, KY, St. Louis, MO, and Toledo, OH), three trips to New York City (including New York Comic-Con), and my 13th consecutive trip to San Diego Comic-Con (including sites in Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles). Number of photos taken this year: about 535,000.
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