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\nA new Jim Henson Company puppet special, Wowsabout, follows two puppets \u2014 Roxy, a free-spirited hedgehog, and Ronald, a fastidious city pig, as they experience moments of awe in Sequoia National Park. Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company<\/p>\n
Creators of the new Jim Henson Company puppet special \u201cWowsabout\u201d join researchers from UC Berkeley\u2019s Greater Good Science Center to discuss the complex psychology of wonder as a powerful tool for early childhood resilience.<\/p>\n
\nA new Jim Henson Company puppet special, Wowsabout, follows two puppets \u2014 Roxy, a free-spirited hedgehog, and Ronald, a fastidious city pig, as they experience moments of awe in Sequoia National Park. Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company<\/p>\n
Follow\u00a0Berkeley Talks<\/a>,\u00a0a\u00a0Berkeley News\u00a0podcast that features lectures and conversations at UC Berkeley.\u00a0See all\u00a0Berkeley Talks<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Halle Stanford drove through Topanga Canyon in Southern California, with Dolly Parton blasting from the car speakers, she was struck by a moment of inspiration.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had this vision of a little hedgehog on the side of the road in her little pink hiking boots, with her guitar in her bag, out to find the wows of the world,\u201d says Stanford, an independent television producer.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few days later, she came across research from\u00a0UC Berkeley\u2019s Greater Good Science Center<\/a>\u00a0showing that awe \u2014 the emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don\u2019t understand \u2014 inspires us to care for the planet and one another. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Bingo, that\u2019s it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That connection became the basis for\u00a0Wowsabout,\u00a0a new Jim Henson Company puppet preschool special<\/a>\u00a0on PBS designed to bring awe to young audiences. Created by Stanford and puppeteer Dorien Davies, the 30-minute special maps the journeys of Roxy, a free-spirited hedgehog, and Ronald, a fastidious city pig, as they explore Sequoia National Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n Together, they experience moments of awe, like when standing beneath towering Sequoias and watching migrating California tortoiseshell butterflies. And they meet others along the way, including Pekan, a puppet representing the endangered southern Sierra Nevada fisher who guides them to see historic pictographs carved into the park\u2019s rock formations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Awe isn\u2019t a luxury emotion, but an evolutionary necessity, says\u00a0Dacher Keltner<\/a>, a Berkeley psychology professor and the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center. \u201cIt makes kids kinder, it makes kids more creative. \u2026 Awe really helps kids stay curious, and be in love with big ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Keltner has studied the science of awe for more than a decade, and in 2023 published the book\u00a0Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life<\/a>. He served as a science consultant and co-executive producer for\u00a0Wowsabout.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this episode of\u00a0Berkeley Talks, Stanford and Davies join Keltner and others from the Greater Good Science Center \u2014 education director\u00a0Vicki Zakrzewski<\/a>\u00a0and parenting program director\u00a0Maryam Abdullah<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 in a talk moderated by\u00a0Sarah Bracken<\/a>, education outreach and school partnerships manager at the center. The group discusses the logistical hurdles of translating wonder into film and why cultivating everyday curiosity has become an essential antidote to modern social disconnection.\u00a0<\/p>\n The conversation took place on May 13 and was hosted by the Greater Good Science Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Watch a video of the panel discussion.<\/a>\u00a0(The screening of\u00a0Wowsabout\u00a0was removed from the recording for copyright reasons.)<\/p>\n Audiences can\u00a0watch the full\u00a0Wowsabout\u00a0special for free on PBS Kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n