Published: June 1, 1997

A Japanese video production crew will be filming June 10 at the University of Colorado at Boulder Family Housing Children’s Center for a popular TV show to be broadcast throughout Japan.

The crew will film children’s activities from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a segment of a 15-minute show shown twice a day, six days a week to Japanese children, called “Eigo de Asobo” (“Let’s Play in English”). It is the only bilingual (English/Japanese) children’s program in Japan.

The CU-Boulder segment, “Fun with Friends,” will be shown on Japan Broadcasting Corp., the nation’s largest broadcasting company with a network of 52 stations. The show is rated among the top 20 of the country’s programs for children.

The CU-Boulder segment will show children and teachers in everyday activities with a focus on American culture and lifestyles. Past U.S. segments have been filmed in San Diego and Sacramento, Calif., and on Guam.

Some of the activities of interest to the Japanese production company, Kiroku Productions Inc., are outdoor sandbox play with water, lunch time, cooking, painting and indoor play.

The show aims to introduce Japanese youngsters to the similarities and differences of learning activities in America “for further development of a global mind,” according to the producer. The company will be filming throughout the United States this summer.

The Family Housing Children’s Center, directed by Jo Copeland, provides nonprofit child care for staff, faculty and students attending CU-Boulder. The center serves 180 youngsters from 12 months through 6 years. The Japanese crew will film children of preschool age, 3 years to 5 years old.

The center’s learning program attracted New York-based Sesame Street Parents magazine, circulation 1.27 million, for a feature article with color photographs in the September 1995 issue.