Spiders, Spider-Man, Francis Scott Key, and Balloons - August 1

Friday, August 1, 2025

Today is Homemade Pie Day, Spider-Man Day, U.S. Air Force Day, Woman Astronomer Day, Water Balloon Day, and World Wide Web Day.

• Health and Wellness Month Resource of the Day:  Arthur: Asthma Kids in Action
• National Sandwich Month Sandwich of the Day: Kids in the Kitchen - Creature Sandwich

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Today's Theme: Spiders, Spider-Man, and Francis Scott Key

ON THIS DATE

• 1774 - British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen.
• 1790 - The first U.S. census shows that the U.S. has a population of 4 million, but slaves were only counted as three-fifths of a person.
• 1936 - Adolph Hitler oversees the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics.
• 1952 - The U.S. and Canada form NORAD - North American Aerospace Defense Command, and tracking Santa on Christmas Eve becomes much easier.
• 1985 - Frank Herbert's novel, Dune, is published.
• 1981 - MTV premieres the Bangles' song," Video Killed the Radio Star."

BIRTHDAYS

• 1779 - Author Francis Scott Key 
• 1819 - Author Herman Melville
• 1942 - Musician Jerry Garcia
• 1963 - Rapper Coolio

SONGS OF THE DAY 

• The Who - Boris the Spider - LISTEN
  
• Grateful Dead - Touch of Grey - LISTEN
• Jim Stafford - Spiders and Snakes - LISTEN
• Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise - LISTEN
  
• Fifth Dimension - Beautiful Balloon - LISTEN

THEME: SPIDERS AND SPIDER-MAN

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - The Itsy Bitsy Spider with Jordin Sparks (1:20) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Spidermonster, The Musical (1:20)  - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Sesame Street - Jim Parsons: Arachnid (1:29) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-2 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature Nuggets: Spiders at Work (1:44) - VIEW and DO
• Grades PreK-4 - PBS Kids - Wild Kratts - Secrets of the Spider's Web (26:36) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-4 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Wild Kratts - Make a Web (2:15) - VIEW and DO
• Grades PreK-4 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Wild Kratts - Orbit the Spider  (1:20) - VIEW and DO
• Grades K-4 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Wild Kratts - Tarantula Time  (1:53) - VIEW
• Grades 1-5 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Wild Kratts - Designer Spider Silk (1:28) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-6 -  NHPBS LearningMedia - Garden Spiders (2:40) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 4-6 - NHPBS Wildlife Journal Junior - Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites, Ticks - READ
• Grades 6-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Great Job! - Spider Biologist (6:32) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 -  NHPBS LearningMedia - Lens of Time: Spider Seduction (7:29) - VIEW, READ, and DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - NC Science NOW - Spider Silk (5:28) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Be Smart - Why I'm Scared of Spiders (3:06)  - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Deeper Look - For These Tiny Spiders, It's Sing or Get Served (3:47) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Turret Spiders Launch Sneak Attacks From Tiny Towers (4:01) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - It's Okay to Be Smart - 20 MILLION-Year-Old Spider!! Unweaving Spider Silk (7:14) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Magical Land of Oz - Peacock Spiders Mating Rituals (3:28) - VIEW

THEME:  SPIDER-MAN

• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Comic Culture - Danny Fingerroth (26:46) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - On Story - A Conversation with David Koepp (26:47) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - One Detroit - Marvel Author Saladin Ahmed Discusses New Spider-Man Comic (9:04) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - PBS NewsHour - How Stan Lee Helped Revolutionize Comic Books (4:14) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - American Masters - Remembering Stan Lee (7:17) - VIEW

THEME: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY

• Grades K-5 - EDSITEment - Oh, Say Can You See What the Star-Spangled Banner Means Lesson Plan - DO
• Grades 5-12 - PBS LearningMedia - The War of 1812 - Please Stand for the National Anthem (9:10) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-8 - National Park Service - “The Rockets’ Red Glare”: Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (Teaching with Historic Places) - DO
• Grades 6-12 - CSPAN - Choice Board - The Star-Spangled Banner Lesson Plan - VIEW and DO
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Francis Scott Key and the Song that Built America (56:53) - VIEW

THEME: BALLOONS

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Happy/Sad Balloons with Big Bird and Telly Monster (1:25) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Great Inventor - Balloon Gloves (1:20) - VIEW
• Grades K-3 -  PBS Kids - OH NOAH! - The Red Balloon (English and Spanish) (3:03) - VIEW
• Grades K-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Dragonfly TV - Hot Air Balloon (5:48) - VIEW
• Grades 4-6 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Dragonfly TV - GPS: Balloon Fiesta (7:36)- VIEW and DO
• Grades 4-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Smithsonian Science Starters - Learn about Rocket Launches Using Balloons (3:10)  - VIEW
• Grades 3-9 - NHPBS LearningMeia - STEM in 30 - Hot Air Balloons and Air Pressure (28:11) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Be Smart - The REAL Physics of Hot Air Balloons! (5:51) - VIEW

Pressroom Contact

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