Jules Verne and Kites - February 8

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Today is Molasses Bar Day, Kite Flying Day, Boy Scout Anniversary Day, and Opera Day.

Black History Month Resource of the Day: Shirley Chisholm

• Black History Month Special: Shirley Chisholm
• Shirley Chisholm: She Inspires
• National Women's History Museum - Shirley Chisholm
• U.S. House of Representatives - Shirley Chisholm

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Today's Theme: Jules Verne and Kites

ON THIS DATE

• 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed for her suspected role in the Babington Plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I.
• 1904 - The Russo-Japanese War begins.
• 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated.
• 1968 - Three black students from South Carolina State University are killed by highway patrolmen in a civil rights protest over a whites-only bowling alley in  Orangeburg, S.C.

BIRTHDAYS

• 1677 - French astronomer Jacques Cassini
• 1700- Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli
• 1820 - Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
• 1828 - French author Jules Verne
• 1834 - Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev
• 1850 - Author Kate Chopin
• 1894 - Producer and director King Vidor
• 1899 - Guitarist and singer-songwriter Lonnie Johnson
• 1911 - Poet and short story writer Elizabeth Bishop
• 1925 - Actor Jack Lemmon
• 1931 - Actor James Dean
• 1932 - Composer and conductor John Williams
• 1937 - Composer Joe Raposo, known for his works for Sesame Street
• 1955 - Author John Grisham
• 1974 - Actor, producer, and director Seth Green

SONGS OF THE DAY 

• John Williams - Imperial March from Star Wars - LISTEN
• Lonnie Johnson - Another Night to Cry - LISTEN
• Nathan Lane and the Muppets sing "Sing" by Joe Raposo - LISTEN

THEME:  Jules Verne

• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Ancient Skies - Cannon Shot to the Moon (2:04) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Be Smart - When Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact (7:36) - VIEW 
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS - University Place - Old Time Radio Drama: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1:04:41) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - American Experience - Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days - READ
• Grades 6-12 - Mental Floss - 15 Things You Might Not Know About Jules Verne - READ
• Grades 6-12 -  The History of Sci-Fi - Jules Verne - Extra Sci-Fi (8:10) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - A Trip to the Moon - 1902 Film inspired by Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and its sequel Around the Moon (12:52) - VIEW

THEME:  Kites

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - K is for Kite (1:12) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 -  NHPBS Video - Crafts for Kids - Make an Awesome Shapely Kite (0:50) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-2 - PBS LearningMedia -  The Cat in the Hat -Kites Need Oodles of Wind! (1:59) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-3 - PBS LearningMedia - Kid Vision - Kites Field Trip (8:50) - VIEW and DO
• Grades PreK-3 - PBS LearningMedia - STEM in 30 - Kites (29:14) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 4-8 - PBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Kites (8:27) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 -  NHPBS Video - Be Smart - The Shocking Truth About Ben Franklin and the Kite (8:01) - VIEW
• Grades 8-12 - PBS LearningMedia - Career Spotlight: Kite Designer (Available in Spanish) (3:17) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 8-12 - NHPBS Video - The Art and History of Kites (24:51) - VIEW

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
Director of Communications
crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339