The CYE Center serves as the Educational Advisory Board for the BIG GREEN RABBIT™, a new initiative in children’s media. Conceived by Shane DeRolf, a Boulder-based leader in children’s entertainment, the purpose of the initiative is to use television, books, music CDs, videos/DVDs, e-magazines, the Internet and live events to promote healthy eating habits and exercise in engaging ways while inspiring children’s connection to nature. The initiative was launched in June with the first of four public auditions in the metro-Denver area to select BIG GREEN DANCERS™--100 children aged 4 to 8 who will perform on an interactive Rocky Mountain PBS television special airing in the fall, as well as community events and performances called BIG GREEN HOPS™. The TV special and events also feature a cast of VERY BIG GREEN DANCERS™—9-to-15-year olds who mentor the younger children and teach them their dance routines—and a seven-foot-tall rabbit named Charlie. (See www.BigGreenRabbit.com.)
DeRolf observes, “As adults, we may want to provide healthier choices in entertainment and lifestyles for our children, but unless those choices are able to connect with children on their level, it rarely works.” By making exercise, healthy eating, and playing outdoors magical and fun, BIG GREEN RABBIT products and events persuade children to engage in healthy lifestyles because they want to. The hundreds of children who auditioned for a role as a BIG GREEN DANCER, for example, left the auditions munching organic carrots.
According to DeRolf, “BIG GREEN RABBIT is the healthiest children’s brand on the planet.” The CYE Center supports this goal, advising the initiative on the science of childhood obesity, children’s relationship with nature, and design for active outdoor play.
For more information: Louise.Chawla@colorado.edu or visit http://www.biggreenrabbit.com/