NEW YORK, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers goes "Blue" for the month of July, as the network invites kids and their families to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Blue's Clues, Nick Jr.'s groundbreaking series that changed the way preschoolers watch television. Throughout July, NOGGIN will pay tribute to everyone's favorite blue puppy with Blue's Clues-themed activities at Club NOGGIN in General Growth (GGP) malls nationwide, in addition to appearances by series host "Joe" (Donovan Patton) in select malls. NOGGIN will also kick off a month-long on-air celebration of Blue's Clues with a "Red, White and Blue" marathon on Tuesday, July 4.
The Club NOGGIN celebration will lead up to the August anniversary of Blue's Clues, when Nick Jr. and NOGGIN will introduce viewers to a new character -- Blue's new brother -- on the hour-long movie Meet Blue's Baby Brother premiering Sunday, August 6, (8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Nickelodeon, Monday, August 7 (10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., ET/PT) on Nick Jr. and August 7 (2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., ET) on NOGGIN. For the first time, the special melds the two worlds of Joe and the classic animated world of Blue's Clues with the puppets on Blue's Room. Meet Blue's Baby Brother will feature a special game of 'Gold Clues' as preschoolers help search for Blue's baby brother and share another milestone with their favorite blue puppy.
"Blue's Clues introduced interactivity to preschool TV," said Angela Leaney, Senior Vice President, Brand Communications, Noggin and The N. "We are excited to celebrate the anniversary of this landmark series with our Noggin viewers both on-screen and at GGP malls across the country."
"GGP malls are passionate about creating and hosting family events and experiences. The 10th anniversary celebration of Blue's Clues is filled with fun and creative activities for both parents and their children to enjoy in the mall," said Melinda Holland, Senior Vice President of Business Development at General Growth Properties.
Blue's Clues will take over Club NOGGIN, the network's interactive educational in-mall experience for preschoolers and their parents. Participating malls will present special Blue's Clues-themed activities throughout the month of July. Club NOGGIN reaches consumers in 78 GGP malls nationwide. Blue's Clues host Donovan Patton is scheduled to appear for "meet and greets" and book readings in the following markets: New York, Chicago, San Jose, Houston and Dallas. Throughout July, GGP and NOGGIN will also launch "Club NOGGIN On the Go!" a take-away extension of Club NOGGIN's in-mall experience for parents to help entertain and educate their kids wherever they are.
Club NOGGIN's Blue's Clues educational curriculum in July will focus on themes from the hit series including:
* Letters: Activity to feature the Blue's Clues book "Alphabet Power"
* Numbers: Activity to feature a Blue's Clues video clip with a
corresponding lesson
* Shapes: Activity to feature an arts and crafts project -- build a
sailboat -- which mirrors a lesson on Meet Blue's Baby Brother
* Colors: Coloring activity based on Meet Blue's Baby Brother
On Tuesday, July 4 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (ET), NOGGIN's "Red, White and Blue" on-air marathon will feature the following Blue's Clues milestones: the three-part special "Meet Joe," where Steve goes to college and viewers are introduced to new host Joe; the half-hour special "Legend of the Blue Puppy" where Blue talks for the very first time; "Blue's 100th Episode Celebration," a retrospective look at the first five seasons with Steve, Joe and Blue; and the 90-minute movie "Blue's Big Musical." The marathon will repeat at 2:00 p.m. (ET) that day.
NOGGIN's "Red, White and Blue" marathon schedule is as follows:
* 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (ET) "Meet Joe" - Steve introduces Blue and their
pals to his younger brother Joe and they play "show and tell" to welcome
and get to know their new friend. Steve, Blue and the gang teach Joe
how to play Blue's Clues, and Joe gets his own handy dandy notebook.
Later, Steve is thrilled to share the news that he's going to college.
Everyone is excited for Steve's new adventure and that Joe will be
staying at the house to play Blue's Clues with them.
* 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. (ET) "Legend of the Blue Puppy" - Moona the moon
fairy tells the Legend of Blue and how she was born with a little golden
key, which unlocks a great gift. After much trial and error we find the
lock that Key will fit in and are swept away to a whole new world --
Blue's Room. Blue's greatest gift is that, in her playroom, she can
talk! We talk with Blue and meet new Blue's Room friends -- Polka Dots,
Roar E. Saurus, Frederica, Dress Up Chest, Doodle Board, and Boogie
Woogie.
* 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (ET) "Blue's 100th Episode Celebration" - Steve
visits from college, and he and Joe change from their trademark rugby
shirts to tuxedos to remember the games, songs, laughs and skidoos from
the first five seasons. They introduce the first video montage of the
evening -- "The Places We've Been." Sock Puppet presents "The Laughs
We've Had," Joe and Tickety marvel at how smart the home viewer is in
"The Things We've Learned" and Blue introduces "The Clues We've Found."
After Steve heads back to college, Joe, Blue and their pals look at "The
Things to Come" and think about all the places left to go, the laughs to
be had, things to be learned, clues to be found and songs to be sung.
* 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (ET) "Blue's Big Musical" - Steve, Blue and
their friends plan a big backyard musical called "You Can Be Anything
You Want To Be." When Blue and Tickety Tock rehearse their duet,
Tickety loses her voice! Blue organizes a game of "Blue's Clues" to
find out who will sing with her at such short notice. Hints are
uncovered that lead them to Periwinkle, the new cat in town, who wants
to perform in their show. When Steve and Blue skidoo into a sheet of
music to create a song, they meet G-Clef (Ray Charles) and The Notes
(The Persuasions), who teach them the elements of music. Steve and Blue
learn that notes, rhythm and tempo joined with a little heart and soul
can make a truly original song.
In addition, starting Wednesday, July 5th and throughout the month of July, NOGGIN will air an hour of Blue's Clues with two back-to-back episodes everyday from 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (ET). Each week's episodes will focus on a different educational theme highlighted on Blue's Clues, including science, social and emotional, problem solving, reading and language and math.
Participating General Growth malls and NOGGIN invite parents and caregivers to bring their children (ages three to six) to Club NOGGIN for a FREE, one-hour session where they play educational games and participate in large group activities supervised by a trained activity leader. NOGGIN has created a safe and educational format for the clubs that complement the network's curricular framework and on-air programming. Each session includes interactive songs, video clips, games and a hands-on activity.
General Growth Properties, Inc. is the second largest U.S.-based publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). General Growth currently has an ownership interest in or management responsibility for a portfolio of more than 200 shopping malls in 44 states, as well as ownership in planned community developments and commercial office buildings. The portfolio totals approximately 200 million square feet of retail space and includes more than 24,000 retail stores nationwide. General Growth Properties, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GGP. For more information, please visit the Company Web site at http://www.generalgrowth.com/.
NOGGIN is the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers owned by Nickelodeon. NOGGIN currently reaches 49 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite TV. NOGGIN, which airs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (ET), is like preschool on TV with educational programming both on-air and online at http://www.noggin.com/. NOGGIN and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
