china | zhima jie
Opening the world of China’s youngest learners.
Sesame Street’s friendship with China began with a celebratory visit from Big Bird in 1983. Now he’s back to inspire millions of preschoolers to explore, ask questions, and think like scientists.
Sesame Street, or Zhima Jie as it’s called in Mandarin, returns with Big Bird Looks at the World. The locally developed, Mandarin-language program debuted in December 2010. Its playful premise: fun, everyday encounters with science and nature that give children hands-on problem-solving skills to engage with their complex world. Leading the exploration are Big Bird, Elmo, and China’s own Lily, a 4-year-old tiger who loves martial arts and perseveres in the face of tough problems. Read more about the program.
In its first two months on the air in Shanghai, Big Bird Looks at the World reached over one million families.1 In addition, almost 120,000 outreach kits and books have been distributed to schools and homes in less advantaged areas.2 Now Big Bird and his friends are bringing children's education to the airwaves in 10 provinces across China and are planning an expanded outreach program and new opportunities to inspire China’s 200 million school-age children3 with the most powerful force known to science — curiosity.
Major support for Zhima Jie is provided by MSD (Merck). Additional support provided by BASF Corporation.
2 Project records, April-Sept. 2011.
3 UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2009). Education (all levels) profile—China: General information.
