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Buzzy Bee Goes Tech - New Online Story Club Launches

Press release

Thursday, 29 May 2014

Buzzy Bee & Friends Entertain Prince George
And launches a new club for teaching pre-schoolers the art of storytelling

For Prince George, it was Buzzy Bee’s best friend Mary Lou that caught his attention when he visited Wellington last month. George was photographed reaching over to pluck a Mary Lou doll from the grasp of a New Zealand baby at a play group hosted at Government House. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Prince William who was famously photographed playing with the iconic Kiwi toy Buzzy Bee when he visited New Zealand as a baby in 1983.

After an enduring popularity of more than seventy years across generations of families, this month the characters Buzzy Bee, Mary Lou and their friends make a digital debut, and preschoolers are being invited to join the new Buzzy’s Club.

Buzzy’s Club is a storytelling club that uses the Buzzy Bee & friends characters to inspire the next generation of creative story tellers. Buzzy’s Club works to actively encourage children to use their imaginations to make up and tell short stories, while developing creativity and language skills.

Parents who join the free online club can access a story sharing service called BBTV+My Studio by setting up their child’s studio on the website. Registered members can also access their studio through downloading an iPad or iPhone app. The service features Buzzy Bee and encourages story themes like respect, trust, kindness, belonging and responsibility, being curious, independence and learning how to manage emotions.

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Pre-schoolers can incorporate a theme, and record their own stories and play which are formatted with open and closing credits to look like a Buzzy Bee & Friends TV episode, and securely shared with selected friends and family.

Wendie Hall from Lion Rock Ventures, the owner of Buzzy Bee & friends, says “The character Buzzy Bee loves telling stories. If Buzzy can encourage pre-schoolers to use their imaginations and love telling stories as much as he does, that’s a great result.”

Members will have access to parent resources and play activities related to key story themes. With parental approval, Buzzy will also post selected stories and play moments for Buzzy Club members to watch and learn from.

“We hope that by allowing pre-schoolers to view other children’s stories, they will be motivated to develop their own creative story telling skills.

“Telling stories in front of a camera is a great way to develop confidence,” says Wendie.

Buzzy’s Club members will also receive monthly newsletters with fun activities and parent resources that will help children play, share and grow.

Parents can register their children for Buzzy’s Club at www.buzzybeetv.com

-ends-

Notes to editor

Buzzy Bee, Mary Lou and the other toys that feature as characters in the Buzzy Bee & friends TV series were the creation of an Auckland toy and wood craftsman, Maurice Scheslinger in the late 1930s.


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