About PLUM LANDING

Who is Plum?

That's me, I'm Plum. I'm just your run-of-the-mill space traveler from the Planet Blorb. My home is a pretty bleak place so I, and my fellow Blorbians, stare up into the night sky and dream of Earth. You have so much here that's beautiful and special, though sometimes I think you Earthlings don't notice it. Maybe I can help with that...

What is Plum Landing?

If that question is about my driving, all I can say is that tree came out of nowhere and my ship crash-landed on Earth. I'm still waiting for the Blorbian version of AAA. I've been listening to the on-hold music for several weeks: I think I'll be here for a while.

No, what is PLUM LANDING?

Oh... I like that question better. PLUM LANDING is my exciting multi-platform, indoor-outdoor, science exploration adventure for kids and grown-ups. We've got games, animations, videos, apps, a whole digital curriculum for afterschools and summer camps, and science activities for parents and kids to do together. This will get everyone discovering what we Blorbians have known for a long time: that you live on an incredible planet.

Who are your friends here?

It's a growing list! I've enlisted Brad, Clem, Oliver, Gabi, and Cooper, who you can meet in my animated stories. You'll see me sending my Earthling friends on missions to explore ecosystems around the world. You'll also see many more friends in my other videos.

What's on this website?

There are over forty terrific animated videos, charting the adventures of Brad, Clem, Oliver, Gabi and Cooper, as well as video postcards that I made to show Blorbians what's wonderful about planet Earth. There are also videos showing real kids going out into the world and exploring just like Clem and her friends do in animated stories.

The site has incredible games based on different locations we’ve visited (the deserts of Australia, the mangroves of Belize, the Rocky Mountains in Canada, the jungles of Borneo, and an urban ecosystem in the northeastern US). In these destinations, kids can play games photographing different kinds of plants and animals, placing different inhabitants in their habitats (say that three times fast), searching for nature in the city, and even playing as the animals themselves! Players learn about food webs, habitats and all kinds of awesome adaptations.

For those who want to draw, there are Outdoor Adventures and missions using a Nature Sketchpad. These let players tackle missions that feature particular plants, animals, or other things in nature. A fabulous drawing gizmo lets you create a beautiful image to save. Plus, you earn a great badge for each Outdoor Adventure you complete! To support your Outdoor Adventures and Nature Sketchpad drawings, we have about one hundred galleries of nature images shared by kids.

We also have delightful, digital stickers of plants and animals. These are like living safari cards with great information about each featured plant or animal. Plus, many of the stickers move!

You can also play three free apps that get kids outside to tackle missions by photographing nature: Plum's Photo Hunt, Plum’s Creaturizer, and Family Fun with Plum. And, as I said, there's a whole bunch of activities and videos for grown-ups.

Here's a site map to find everything. And here is who helped make everything!

What is there here for parents, teachers or other educators?

The PLUM LANDING Digital Curriculum offers resources for Educators to extend the learning into a variety of settings: afterschool programs (such as Girls Inc., Girl Scouts USA, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs); summer camps; and programs coordinated by museums and local public television stations. The curriculum provides collections of hands-on science activities and media resources—animations, videos, games, photo apps, and more—arranged in thematic sequences and aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards.

We also have a robust collection of resources for Parents. These include hands-on science activities, apps that allow families to explore science on the go, printable tips for exploring nature, and a series of videos—hosted by parents and outdoor enthusiasts—that provide inspiration and support for parents in getting their families outdoors. A selection of these resources is available in Spanish.

What do kids learn about on this site?

Science! Nature! The world around them! Working closely with science advisors, we've created an innovative, environmental science curriculum for 6 to 9-year-olds that guides everything you see at PLUM LANDING. The curriculum is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and is designed to give kids an understanding of the science underlying healthy ecosystems and sustainability.

How do I write to you?

You can write to me here. I can't promise I'll reply, but I will look at all my mail.