This radio interview is an abbreviated version of the full video interview, available with ASL interpretation on Youtube.
Think back to your favorite childhood TV show—was it “Blue’s Clues”? “Little Bear”? “Winnie the Pooh”? Animated TV shows are important for kids because they can teach them to read, draw, spell, and talk. Plus, the ways these shows tell stories and create colorful, fictitious worlds can broaden children’s knowledge and capacity to imagine.
But children’s shows aren’t accessible to all deaf children, which means they could miss out on a common learning experience. Among other things, that can set kids back in learning both American Sign Language (ASL) and English language skills during their formative early childhood years.
Melissa Malzkuhn is third-generation Deaf and the founder and director of the Motion Light Lab at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Her lab is creating ASL-focused children’s media that is made by and for the Deaf community, using motion capture technology, avatars, animation, and signing storytellers. She talks with guest host Arielle Duhaime-Ross about ASL access in childhood, the science of learning, and how she’s creating “Here Comes Mavo!”—the first animated TV series with signing characters.
Transcripts for this segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
To stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
Tips And Tricks To Grow Your Garden In A Changing Climate. March 10, 2023, Part 2
A New Controversial Black Hole Theory, Saving The Great Salt Lake. March 10, 2023, Part 1
Science At The Oscars, Finding Shackleton’s “Endurance” Ship. March 3, 2023, Part 1
Social Media’s ‘Chaos Machine,’ Whale Vocal Fry, Distant Galaxies. March 3, 2023, Part 2
AI And Hip Hop, Self-Planting Seeds, Abortion Pill Facing Restrictions. Feb 24, 2023, Part 1
“All That Breathes’ Film, Repatriating Native American Remains, Benjamin Banneker. Feb 24, 2023, Part 2
Spy Balloons, Cost of Cancer Care, Seaweed, Chocolate Mouthfeel. Feb 17, 2023, Part 2
Ohio Train Spill, Mushroom And Memory, Water Infrastructure. Feb 17, 2023, Part 1
Rethinking Dementia Care. February 10, 2023, Part 2
ChatGPT And The Future Of AI, Turkey Earthquakes. February 10, 2023, Part 1
Climate Change Music, Industrial Animal Husbandry, Grief Book. Feb 3, 2023, Part 2
Science Of ‘The Last Of Us’ Fungi, New U.S. Nuclear Power. Feb 3, 2023, Part 1
Accessible Birding, Human Water Consumption, Road Salt Impacts, Terraformers Book. Jan 27, 2023, Part 2
Art Crime Science, Long Covid Update, Earth's Slowing Core. Jan 27, 2023, Part 1
Gas Stoves, Next Gen Vaccines, Printed Violins. January 20, 2023, Part 2
Children’s Antibiotics Shortage, Bat Vocalizations, Life’s Biggest Questions. January 20, 2023, Part 1
Tech To Watch, Pests. January 13, 2023, Part 2
Lab-Grown Meat Progress, Early Human Migration Updates. January 13, 2023, Part 1
Science Comedy, Shifting Rules For Abortion Pills. Jan 6, 2023, Part 1
Redlining and Baltimore Trees, The Root Of A Gopher Mystery, Cold and the Nose, Glass Frogs. Jan 6, 2023, Part 2
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL