They had a Clue!

Its slogan was "to empower, to challenge, and build the self esteem of preschoolers all while making them laugh!" Targeted at a younger audience but enjoyed by everyone this educational show was colorful and full of fun. The popularity of Blues Clues grew like wildfire and soon found itself mentioned with the legend of educational children's television Sesame Street.

For children it has been proved that repetition is the key to learning.  Part of repitition is creating an environment that is familiar and habits that are consistent.  In September 1996 audiences were invited into the home of a host and his animated dog for the first time on Nickolodeon.  The mixture between real and animated characters was once again shown to be a formula that was full proof.

 The show with Steve and his cute dog Blue would welcome thousands of visitors and many awards to include the 2001 Peabody Award  which honors the most powerful, enlightening and invigorating stories in television, radio, and online media. If viewership and awards were how you gauge success producers Angela Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson had succeeded.

Tuning into the charming show and walking through the familiar door into the color full living room was the start of the familiar consistency that would grow into the perfect earning environment.  "It's me, Steve! Have you seen Blue? My puppy." was the catch phrase that signaled the beginning of the 30 minute episode.

 The show was structured with repetitive segments children would soon recognize easily but didn't feel like repetition.  The segment most recognizable in the show was the game the show revolved around. The game was a guessing game in which Blue would leave clues with her paw prints

 for Steve to find and then piece together the answer to the question that had been asked at the opening few minutes of the show. After all the clues were gathered and the game was done Steve would sing the song "We just figured out Blues Clues." During the game children were interacting and being introduced to the other characters in the house and situations that were a part of Steve's life in the house. There was a family that lived in the kitchen. Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, and their daughter Paprika were animated.  Side Table Drawer was a part of every episode because it held the "handy dandy notebook" which is important to the game. The "handy dandy notebook" is how Steve kept up with the clues he was collecting for the game.

The interaction on the show made for a very real experience especially with the cut to the children's voices as they announced to Steve "a clue, a clue, when he seemed to miss a clue and the technique of breaking the 4th wall. Steve talks directly to his audience drawing them into the space. The songs are also part of the repetitious flow of the show which alert you to a segment's beginning or end.


 Mail time is sung when Mailbox box announced his arrival and is another part of the animation.

 Mail time is also the only other time human characters are introduced other than Steve, The animated envelope opens to reveal human children talking to Steve, as they break the 4th wall, about whatever the topic of the day's show. This gives children the opportunity to learn from other children. The game was ended with the very catchy Blues Clues Song sung only after Steve spent time thinking in his thinking chair "to think, think, think" that he sand along with Blue,  From start to finish Blues Clues gave children a full load of preschool learning. With his green striped shirt and crayon to match made Steve a child approved and parent approved celebrity,

Today you can find any number of products from the show or branded from the show because they are still popular and being remembered by the generation that loved to visit Steve and Blue everyday. Blues Clues filled preschoolers brains with all the knowledge they could in just 30 minutes. Vibrant learning that utilized the time a child would be in front of the television is a great way to characterize this educational children's program. And for every "so long" Steven had made a point to give each child a little dose of esteem with the affirmation 'because you're really smart"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1IFMkjJ04     What a wonderful message for every child to hear as they start their learning journey.