Learn & Play
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Learning at Home | Week of 4/04 – 4/08

Take advantage of this week’s Learning at Home broadcast schedule – great for students engaged in hybrid or distance instruction, and families looking to spend some extra, quality time together!

After watching these fascinating programs, explore the PBS LearningMedia and web resources to learn more.

Highlight of the Week

Benjamin Franklin | Episode 1: “Join or Die” (1706-1774)
Wednesday, April 6, 1 PM

Ken Burns’s two-part, four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. In the first episode, “Join or Die,” leaving behind his Boston childhood, Benjamin Franklin reinvents himself in Philadelphia where he builds a printing empire and a new life with his wife, Deborah. Turning to science, Franklin’s lightning rod and experiments in electricity earn him worldwide fame. After entering politics, he spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his own family starts to come apart.

Learning at Home
Week of 4/08 – 4/08

Monday, April 4

1 PM: Heart’s Delight: The Story of William H. Miner

This 90-minute documentary chronicles the life and legacy of one the most notable North Country figures. William Miner was an orphan, an inventor, an entrepreneur, a farmer, a millionaire, and the greatest philanthropist the North Country has ever known. William Miner’s ambitious pursuits included the development of Heart’s Delight Farm, which had 300 buildings and employed 800 workers on 15,000 acres. He founded a railroad appliance company that is still in operation today in Chicago. He built the Chazy Central Rural School, the first centralized school district in NY State, and the Physicians Hospital. More than 85 years after his death, the North Country still benefits from his generosity.

2:30 PM: Rediscovering the Light: Restoring New York’s Capitol

After twelve years of restoration projects, the Capitol is once again the shining jewel of the Empire State. Witness the results of hundreds of skilled workers and artisans to illuminate areas that had been cloaked in darkness for over half a century.

Tuesday, April 5

1 PM: Expedition Unpacked: Teamwork

In this episode we unpack the story of the world class teams behind five of our world-first expeditions. Having the right team members, with the right skills, expertise and thirst for adventure, was key to exploring the remote Arctic wilderness, the flooded caves of Mexico, the impenetrable Indonesian jungle and a hidden gorge in the heart of the forests of South America.

2 PM: Daring Women Doctors: Physicians in the 19th Century

Hidden in American history, all women’s medical schools began to appear in the mid 19th century long before women had the right to vote or own property. “Daring Women Doctors” highlights the intrepid, pioneering and diverse women who faced hostility and resistance in their pursuit of medical educations.

Wednesday, April 6

1 PM: Benjamin Franklin | Episode 1: “Join or Die” (1706-1774)

Ken Burns’s two-part, four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. In the first episode, “Join or Die,” leaving behind his Boston childhood, Benjamin Franklin reinvents himself in Philadelphia where he builds a printing empire and a new life with his wife, Deborah. Turning to science, Franklin’s lightning rod and experiments in electricity earn him worldwide fame. After entering politics, he spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his own family starts to come apart.

Thursday, April 7

1 PM: Benjamin Franklin | Episode 2: “An American” (1775-1790)

Benjamin Franklin leaves London and returns to wartime Philadelphia where he joins Congress and helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence. In Paris, he wins French support for the American Revolution then negotiates a peace treaty with Britain. He spends his last years in the new United States, working on the Constitution and unsuccessfully promoting the abolition of slavery.

Friday, April 8

1 PM: Poetry in America: The Language of the Brag and The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters

Sharon Olds’s “The Language of the Brag” and Bernadette Mayer’s “The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters” are exuberant, boisterous tributes to motherhood. Both poets join host Elisa New, actor Donna Lynne Champlin, writer Emily Oster, activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, obstetrician Lorna Wilkerson, and co-founders of Our Bodies Ourselves to explore the miracle, and mess, of creating new life.

1:30 PM: Articulate | Self Realization

Author Yiyun Li and choreographer Miguel Gutierrez make work that fuels—and is fueled by—self-understanding. Great suffering drove Yiyun Li to find solace in writing. Witnessing his own development with a watchful eye has kept highflying choreographer Miguel Gutierrez grounded.

2 PM: Great Performances | Now Hear This “Haydn: The King of Strings”

Explore the work of famed composer Joseph Haydn’s career with host Scott Yoo and featured guest artists as he discovers how Haydn borrowed folk music from Scotland, Hungary and Austria to create his famous “Emperor Quartet.”

Learning at Home on Mountain Lake PBS is supported by:
Adirondack Foundation