Z is for Zoom Zoom Zooma-Zoom

Today is Alphabee-Thursday.
That means my blog is currently being brought to you by the letter Z.
and... is for

That's right....c'mon now...fess up.
Who's old enough to remember the original ZOOM show on PBS?

yeh...I thought there might be a couple of ya!
I remember this show..
Wikipedia tells about it, too:
ZOOM is an American educational television show, created almost entirely by children, which aired on PBS originally from January 3, 1972 to 1978. This was produced by WGBH-TV in Boston.
ZOOM encourages children to "turn off the TV and do it!" On the show, a cast of (usually) seven kids (known as ZOOMers) perform various activities such as games, plays, poems, recipes, jokes, and science experiments, all suggested by viewer contributions. The mail-in request became a pop culture reference for its music exhortation to "Write ZOOM, Z-Double-O-M, Box 3-5-0, Boston, Mass 0-2-1-3-4: send it to ZOOM!". There is also a language game on the show called Ubbi-Dubbi and another called Fannee Doolee. The performers in the original series were known for wearing striped rugby shirts and jeans and for performing barefoot, although the cast members started performing in shoes from the third season (1973) on.

ZOOM was a new kind of series when it premiered on January 3, 1972. Unlike other children's fare at the time, it was, for the most part, unscripted. Far from seeking to capitalize by making stars of the child actors, the contracts prohibited them from making any television appearances or doing commercials for three years after they left the show.

ZOOM was intended to inspire children to be active investigators, creators, and problem-solvers as well as introduce them to the principles of ethnic diversity. The show's ZOOMSci segment, for example, featured on the later incarnation, encouraged viewers to try the activities shown on ZOOM and to send in their results.

The first ZOOM series lasted six seasons (1972–1978) and featured 49 ZOOMers.

Still don't remember? Watch this clip:


Now do you remember?
I remember singing that theme song over and over and over..
and learning what a S.A.S.E (pronounced /say-zee/) was. (Self-addressed-stamped-envelope)
and practicing doing that arm thingy that Bernadette does in the clip up there..and dumbfounding all my friends.
***I still do it to my first grade students and they think I'm a god!***

Yeh...there was all sorts of learning, disguised as fun, on this show.
It came on after Sesame Street if I remember correctly...or maybe after The Electric Company (HEEEEEYYYYY YOOOOOOOOOU GUUUUUUUUUUYS!!!)

great stuff. all those shows.
So sad that today's kids don't get that kinda learning.
So few even watch Sesame Street anymore...other than to see Elmo, that is.
There wasn't even an Elmo back in our day.
(yes..I'm also a charter member watcher of Sesame Street...saw the very first episode when it aired.)

But Zoom was for the "older mature" kids....yeh, the 9-12 group.
We were cooler than those Sesame Street babies.
ok...so in 1972 I was only 5..but I was a mature 5!

Lots of memories...
Maybe Zoom wasn't part of your childhood...but it made an impact on mine!


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