AIS Students Help Connect Children Around the World in New DVD Program

Eight students from AIS lent their talents to the pilot episode of Baku the Travel Bug, a new DVD for children ages 3-8 that explores cultures around the world. The DVD made its public debut on December 6 and can be ordered online at www.bakutravels.com.

The program centers around a lovable puppet named Baku who lives inside the travel bag of Aunt Sydney, his best friend and travel partner. When children visit Aunt Sydney’s house, Baku pops out of the bag to show them pictures from his travels abroad, which he keeps in a magical scrapbook. Every time the children say “picture, picture, come to life,” Baku’s photos come alive and the children are transported into actual scenes from around the world.

In episode one, viewers travel to Mexico, India, and Lebanon, learning something valuable from each trip through songs, dance, and hands-on activities. Read the synopsis of Episode 1.

“We are thrilled with how the program turned out,” said producer Matt Crenshaw, an Atlanta native who worked with local filmmaker David Moore to make the production a reality. “All the students from AIS who acted and sang in the program did a wonderful job, and I’m hoping we can work again with AIS on future episodes.”

The idea for Baku the Travel Bug was born from research that describes how early exposure to other cultures can contribute to a lifelong interest and compassion toward people from other societies. While at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Crenshaw met Peter Arndt, an American living in London who wanted to better understand how it is that some people develop a global perspective while others do not. After numerous conversations with learning specialists, international affairs groups and developmental psychologists, the two founded World Notes, the company that produces Baku the Travel Bug.

“We probably all remember being kids and spinning the globe, wondering where we might land. World Notes aims to build on that natural excitement that children have for the world around them,” says Crenshaw.

So far the program has received rave reviews from parents as well as children ages 2 through 10. Baku the Travel Bug will be featured on CBS News in Boston and in the April issue of Parenting magazine.

Feel free to e-mail Matt Crenshaw at mattcrenshaw@post.harvard.edu if you have any questions, and be sure to visit Baku’s website at www.bakutravels.com.

Congratulations again to all of the students from AIS who participated in the pilot episode of Baku the Travel Bug.