Culture

For decades, Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood didn't have a park or any significant green space. Roughly 20 years ago, that changed. Get to know the story of Ping Tom Park, one of the city's hidden gems.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, WTTW has a slate of programming centered around the new, three-part Asian Americans, from concerts to documentaries to food shows. 

A series showcasing the vibrant variety of stories of Asian Americans via personal narratives, an examination of the 43rd President, a unique performance from Chicagoland, and a moving series about gun violence.

Chicago's Louder Than A Bomb is meant in part to "create bridges between communities that might not talk," and while it might lose some of communal energy from being forced online by the coronavirus, it can connect more students than ever. 

The Art Institute may be closed right now, but you can take a virtual tour of its vast collection, featuring insight from some of its curators, plus get to see what it was like twenty years ago, in an archival program from WTTW hosted by the late Brian Dennehy.

Families and students may not be able to visit Chicago's cultural institutions in person right now, but in a new weekly series they can go behind the scences of places like the Shedd Aquarium and National Museum of Mexican Art with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

CNN and Sesame Street are teaming up for a special town hall addressing the coronavirus. Hosted by CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill alongside Big Bird, it will provide information and tools for families and answer questions about the pandemic.

Beginning April 20, Michelle Obama will join PBS KIDS to read a children's book live on Facebook and YouTube in order to encourage reading while children are at home, in Mondays with Michelle Obama.

Poetry magazine has published most major poets of the last century and given many of them early breaks, from T.S. Eliot to Gwendolyn Brooks, Ocean Vuong, and Danez Smith. "Chicago," excerpts from Claudia Rankine's Citizen, and "anyone lived in a pretty how town" were first published in its pages. 

Heather Cherone first appeared on WTTW as a high school senior and editor of her school newspaper. Now the veteran of The Daily Line and DNAinfo Chicago is joining WTTW News as a digital reporter covering City Hall.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown can be difficult for parents and scary for children. PBS KIDS has a series of fun videos to teach kids healthy habits, featuring Daniel Tiger, Sid the Science Kid, and more!

New seasons of two fan-favorite mysteries, including the introduction of a new main character; two World War II-era stories; and a documentary about English royal intrigue: they're all coming in April. 

As many parents work from home or on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, and as kids try their hands at digital learning, there is a lot to process. The gang on Sesame Street has the tools to help.

A second season of Pinkalicious & Peterrific launches March 30, along with new games. Dorothea Gillima, the executive producer of the series as well as of Molly of Denali, discusses what her job entails and how the shows can keep kids occupied and learning while schools are closed.  

PBS's POV offers a wide variety of short documentary films to stream for free, telling the stories of everything from the media frenzy surrounding El Chapo's trial to a unique event featuring more than a million balloons in Cleveland, plus a collaboration with StoryCorps.