"Molly of Denali"

Researchers say experimentation in the natural world can help young children develop an interest in environmental science.

This is the first year of the Children’s & Family Emmys, which will be presented on Dec. 11. 

For the past few months, Vera Starbard and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean have been sequestered in what they call “The Writing Room” in New York City, where they work with producers and writers they say are some of the best in the business.

A new episode of  the kids’ show “Molly of Denali” centers around a character named Vera Malakas, who is Filibascan, a combination of Filipino and Athabascan. Those who worked on the show say that representation of Filipino Alaskans will allow more kids to see themselves and their lives on TV.

The Molly of Denali project is just one effort of Doyon Foundation’s language revitalization program, which works to preserve the ancestral languages of the Doyon region.

Harper was only 25 when he and his wife, Frances Wells, died on the steamer Princess Sophia when it ran aground in Lynn Canal on Oct. 25, 1918.

While “Molly of Denali” is an animated children’s series, each episode features a live action segment with a real life Alaska kid.

“Molly of Denali” is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature a lead character who is Native American.

The show’s producers want kids to have fun — but not co-opt Molly’s Athabascan culture.

“Molly of Denali” is the first national children’s TV show to feature an Alaska Native lead. Some of the show’s creators came to Juneau and put on a vocal acting workshop to help local kids find their own voices.