Wowsabout is a half-hour special airing on PBS Kids, created by Halle Stanford (Co-Creator, Writer, and Executive Producer) and Dorien Davies (Co-Creator, Writer, Executive Producer, and Puppeteer of Roxy), and is rooted in a rich curriculum developed by Dr. Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s foremost emotion scientists and author of "AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life." The special, shot on location in breathtaking Sequoia National Park, aims to help children recognize and name the feeling of awe by experiencing moments of wonder alongside Roxy and Ronald. Through nature, music, storytelling, and friendship, children learn how awe sparks curiosity, creativity, kindness, and a desire to explore and care for the world around them. The special inspires children to notice awe in everyday moments, from the sound of birdsong to clouds drifting across the sky. These ‘Wowsabouts’ help us foster connection to others and the planet.
The wow is what it’s all about!
Set in breathtaking Sequoia National Park, Wowsabout, the new special from The Jim Henson Company for PBS KIDS, follows Roxy, a free-spirited singing hedgehog, and Ronald, an overprepared, tree-loving pig. She’s chasing “magical giants,” he’s after a Junior Ranger badge. Through nature’s AWE, plus music and art, they discover unexpected friendship in a hilarious, heartwarming musical adventure!
“In Wowsabout, our mission is to spark wonder and awe in kids and inspire them to care for each other and the world.... this is a one-of-a-kind special! It’s an open invitation for families to discover awe in the national parks and go on their own Wowsabouts together!”
“It speaks to the moment in the sense that awe is collaborative and causes people to see each other’s opinions a little bit more openly.”
Roxy (Roxana Anna Diana) is a free-spirited hedgehog from the sunflower fields of Kansas who chases WOW moments wherever they lead. With her pink hiking boots stomping and her guitar swinging, Roxy is a joyful extrovert and gifted songwriter. She has journeyed to Sequoia National Forest in search of the magical giants that her Grammy once told her about. Though her Grammy has passed, Roxy wears a locket containing her picture. She opens the locket to share the WOWs with Grammy as if she were still there. A joyful extrovert and gifted songwriter, she believes the whole planet is her home and trusts that awe, a song, and a best friend will lead her exactly where she needs to be.
Ronald (Ronald E. Piggington) is an enthusiastic city pig with a bowtie and a comically huge backpack who has come to Sequoia National Forest to earn his Junior Ranger Badge and finally see the legendary sequoia trees. Raised in Washington D.C., tech-savvy and impeccably prepared for any adventure, he can say positive words in one hundred languages, except squirrel, which is very tricky. It’s his very first time in the great outdoors, and while he may have studied every trail map twice, nothing quite prepares him for the wonder of standing beneath a giant Sequoia tree, especially with Roxy by his side.