Learn & Play
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Learning at Home | Week of 5/09 – 5/13

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

Stories in Thread
Wednesday, May 11, 2:30 PM

Stories in Thread focuses on Hmong Pa Dau or Story Cloths. The traditionally hand-made textiles are integral to what it means to be Hmong in America. Despite this significance of Pa Dau to identity and cultural survival, the art form is disappearing. The perspective of the elder generation, the fighters and refugees from Laos, is expressed in their own Hmong language and their fear of cultural loss is immediate and painful. The story of Hmong Pa Dau is the story of identity change and perseverance, it is an exploration of the refugee and immigrant experience, and also a commentary on contemporary minority issues in America.

Learning at Home
Week of 5/09 – 5/13

Monday, May 9

1 PM: NATURE: My Garden of a Thousand Bees

A veteran wildlife cameraman is bee-obsessed. Seeking refuge from the pandemic in a small city garden, he is filming the wild bees that live there with mind-blowing results. From giant bumblebees to scissor bees the size of a mosquito, he has seen more than 60 species of bee. But more importantly, he is developing a close relationship with an individual bee he follows through its entire life.

2 PM: NOVA: Hindenburg: The New Evidence

The cause of the infamous Hindenburg crash has baffled experts for over 80 years, with theories about the airship’s fire ranging from deliberate sabotage to a spark generated by the stormy conditions in which it landed. But new, never-before-seen amateur footage of the crash has surfaced, showing the airship’s final seconds from a fresh angle and in unrivaled clarity. Taking clues from the footage and other sources, NOVA leads a fresh investigation at a leading scientific lab with eye-opening experiments that point to a final solution of the mystery. 

Tuesday, May 10

1 PM: American Experience: Flood in the Desert

Flood in the Desert explores the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam and its aftermath, the second deadliest disaster in California history.

2 PM: Follow the Water

Follow the Water is an adventure story with an environmental message. Traveling by bike, on foot and in a canoe, photographer Mike Forsberg and filmmaker Peter Stegen follow a mythical drop of water 1,300 miles through three states. Using iPhones, Go-Pros and underwater cameras they share how it feels to get close to the flow of the water — to taste it, touch it, and struggle to understand it.

Wednesday, May 11

1 PM: Asian Americans | Breaking Through

At the turn of the new millennium, the country tackles conflicts over immigration, race, economic disparity, and a shifting world order. A new generation of Asian Americans are empowered by growing numbers and rising influence but face a reckoning of what it means to be an American in an increasingly polarized society. 

2 PM: Vanishing Chinatown: The World of the May’s Studio

Discover the story of San Francisco’s changing Chinatown through the story of a family photo studio and the photo archive they left behind.

2:30 PM: Stories in Thread

Stories in Thread focuses on Hmong Pa Dau or Story Cloths. The traditionally hand-made textiles are integral to what it means to be Hmong in America. Despite this significance of Pa Dau to identity and cultural survival, the art form is disappearing. The perspective of the elder generation, the fighters and refugees from Laos, is expressed in their own Hmong language and their fear of cultural loss is immediate and painful. The story of Hmong Pa Dau is the story of identity change and perseverance, it is an exploration of the refugee and immigrant experience, and also a commentary on contemporary minority issues in America.

Thursday, May 12

1 PM: Hawaiiana

Hawaiiana examines the enduring legacy of Winona “Aunty Nona” Beamer, a venerated educator, storyteller, composer and hula expert who dedicated her life to preserving and celebrating traditional Hawaiian culture. Weaving together archival music and dance performances with past interviews and footage of Aunty Nona and her sons Keola and Kapona Beamer, Hawaiiana offers a profile of a pioneering woman whose wisdom and life story continue to spread the message of aloha around the world.

2 PM: Ka Hana Kapa

Ka Hana Kapa documents the history of kapa in Hawai‘i and follows the complex process of Hawaiian kapa making from start to finish. Hawaiian kapa is one of the most beautiful art forms in the Pacific. In ancient Hawai‘i, kapa, or bark cloth made from the wauke plant (Broussonetia papyrifera), was used for clothing, bedding, the wrapping of precious iwi (ancestor’s bones), important ceremonies, and a myriad of other purposes, making it an integral part of everyday life in Hawaiian society. Ka Hana Kapa is the story of kapa making in Hawai‘i, as told by these dedicated kapa practitioners and their students, who have given new life to this intricate cultural practice.

Friday, May 13

1 PM: The Violin Alone

The unlikely pairing of two modern visionaries, Vilmos Oláh, a Hungarian violin virtuoso, and Eric Funk, contemporary classical composer from the heart of Montana, has resulted in a new piece of music that pushes the boundaries of music and our notion of the possible. “Vili: Concerto for Violin Alone” is an extreme concerto in which its player must simultaneously play the solo and orchestra parts.

2 PM: Great Performances | Now Hear This “Becoming Mozart”

Travel with host Scott Yoo and pianist Stewart Goodyear as they visit Yoo’s Festival Mozaic where Goodyear learns to direct an orchestra from the piano while improvising the solos of Mozart’s twentieth piano concerto.

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