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New York City's Empire State Building, Chicago's Sears Tower and Seattle's Space Needle to Turn Out Lights in Solidarity with Kids Across the Country at 9 P.M. on Earth Day April 22 - Part of Nickelodeon's The Big Green Help Campaign

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 11:59 CDT

Nickelodeon Asks Kids to Turn Off Lights in their Homes for One Minute at 9 P.M.

Nickelodeon Earth Day Programming Schedule to Feature Eco-Themed Episodes, Vignettes throughout the Day

NEW YORK, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City's Empire State Building, Chicago's Sears Tower and Seattle's Space Needle will exhibit an unprecedented show of solidarity with kids across the country by "turning off their lights" on Earth Day -- Wednesday, April 22 (9 p.m. local time) -- as kids simultaneously do the same in their homes, in a symbolic gesture of environmental consciousness. "Powering Down" the Empire State Building's tower lights, the Sears Tower's antenna and the Space Needle's exterior lights is part of Nickelodeon's ongoing The Big Green Help initiative, which is designed to empower kids to take action on the environment and connect them to energy saving and earth-friendly activities in their everyday lives.

As the three landmarks "Power Down", at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Nickelodeon's channels (Nickelodeon, NOGGIN, Nicktoons Network and The N) will pre-empt regularly scheduled programming and ask kids to turn off their lights for 60 seconds to signal their year-long commitment to engage in environmental activity. Nickelodeon's headquarters in New York's Times Square and Los Angeles will also turn off their lights at 9 p.m. (local time).

"Having these iconic landmarks participate in 'Power Down' brings mass awareness to an issue that kids have told us they are concerned about --helping the environment," said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Nickelodeon's Public Affairs. "By engaging kids and families in this moment, we are enlisting a nation of environmental custodians who can help shape a movement towards a healthier planet."

Prior to the "Power Down" event, Nickelodeon's channels will feature a day of green-themed programming and vignettes, including eco-themed episodes of Nickelodeon series such as True Jackson, VP and iCarly, along with green-themed games and more on Nick.com.

Following Earth Day and throughout April, Nickelodeon will air vignettes that capture the Empire State Building, Sears Tower and the Space Needle going dark, and direct kids to pledge real-world actions to help the environment online (http://www.nick.com/biggreenhelp). Nickelodeon has partnered with 12 national and community-based organizations on almost 4,500 registered local Earth Day events and activities around the world to help involve kids in real-world environmental activity. Nick will also launch The Big Green Help grants program to provide schools and community-based organizations with resources for environmental action-oriented projects.

Nickelodeon's The Big Green Help is a multiplatform campaign that provides information and tools to help explain climate change to kids through on-air messaging, grassroots activity, and online gaming. To-date, more than 2 million kids have pledged to participate in The Big Green Help. Last year, the network rolled out a series of online green games and the first-ever green global multiplayer online game -- The Big Green Help Global Challenge -- which resulted in more than 26 million game plays.

Nickelodeon's The Big Green Help partners include: the US Forest Service; National Environmental Education Foundation; National Education Association; ERTHNXT; Girl Scouts; 4-H; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; National Wildlife Federation; LeBron James Family Foundation; Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); and NFL. SpongeBob SquarePants, NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation are all helping to raise awareness about the oceans and water conservation through SpongeBob and You Save the Big Blue, a featured part of The Big Green Help. For more information on The Big Green Help, visit http://www.thebiggreenhelppress.com.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 98 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

NOGGIN, The N and Nicktoons Network's "Power Down" will be held at 9 p.m. ET only.

SOURCE Nickelodeon

Source: PR Newswire

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