Children’s media company Moonbug Entertainment has announced a partnership with the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
CSS is a nonprofit research center that connects academic research with media creators to support the well-being and development of young audiences and to integrate child development research into the creation of preschool programming.
The collaboration brings child development expertise directly into the creative process behind Moonbug’s flagship series, including CoComelon, Blippi, Little Angel, and spin-offs such as CoComelon’s The Melon Patch. This work helps guide how stories are developed, from early concepts through production.
At the centre of the partnership are four learning principles developed by CSS in collaboration with academic scholars and the entertainment company’s creative team. These principles are intended to guide Moonbug’s creative teams and other children’s content producers, while also helping parents to understand what constitutes developmentally appropriate material. They will be released publicly this spring.
CSS and learning experts now work closely with Moonbug’s creative teams to:
- Define development and learning goals for each season, including life skills, social-emotional (soft) skills, and cognitive skills
- Shape story ideas and episode themes
- Review scripts and early cuts to ensure learning is clear and age-appropriate
“As more preschoolers spend time on digital platforms, parents and creators are asking more urgent questions about what quality screen time actually means,” said CSS founder and CEO Dr Yalda T. Uhls. “Research shows children can learn from online video, but only when it’s designed with child development in mind. Our work with Moonbug is about bringing research and storytelling closer together, and we see this as an ongoing commitment.”
“To make great stories for young kids, you have to start with how they learn,” said Moonbug Entertainment chief creative officer Rich Hickey. “Our teams already think deeply about how toddlers experience music, stories, and everyday moments. This partnership with CSS strengthens that commitment and helps us be even more intentional in how we build stories, from the earliest ideas through production.”
Moonbug’s creative teams have previously worked with experts like Dr Natascha Crandall, Dr Allison Briscoe-Smith, and Dr Laura Brown, who will continue to collaborate closely with the company’s creative leadership.
