Being Cat in the Hat

Kristopher Lewis is a Radio and Television major at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  He was raised in Mascoutah and has recently joined the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.  Kris started working as a student employee at WSIU Public Broadcasting in winter, 2013.  He is the performer behind our popular PBS KIDS characters, Super WHY and Cat in the Hat.

While working in WSIU's Education and Outreach program, I have had the opportunity to
be the Cat in the Hat from the famous Dr. Seuss book at several community events around
the region.  I can truly say it is fun for me--and judging from the children's smiles—it is fun
for them as well.  It is such a great opportunity to act wild and witty to impress these young
children and see their faces light up with joy.  When I was a kid, I became familiar with the
story through the children's book, and I read it over and over again. Today, children have so
many more choices and activities they can do with the loveable Cat in the Hat character,
such as the PBS KIDS games online at http://pbskids.org/catinthehat/.   One of the newest
games on the Cat in the Hat web pages is the Math Safari.  Math Safari is a series of games
that teach skills such as spatial sense, numbers, counting, measurement, patterns, addition,
and more.  My favorite game in theMath Safari is Bee Hive and Seek.  In this game, the
Thinga-ma-jigger shrinks to bee-size in order to look for honey in a hide-and-seek game.
The game begins with a lost baby honeybee and a map of a garden sprinkled with lots of
hives. Children follow a series of directional clues to help the baby bee find its home.  This
game teaches children how to use a map and follow directions.  This game is really good for
children ages 3 to 5.  I am becoming more skilled at working with children's media and
performing as the PBS KIDS characters they know and love.  I hope to meet you some day
soon, and I am blessed to help bring children's dreams into reality!