Dora's 10

Nickelodeon celebrates the 10th anniversary of Dora the Explorer by launching Beyond the Backpack, a new multi-year/multi-platform campaign that aims to help parents and educators prepare preschoolers socially, emotionally, with early literacy and math skills and healthy living basics, for school, with the support of new partners actress Salma Hayek Pinault and Children's Defense Fund's president/founder Marian Wright Edelman, and the National Parents Teachers (PTA).

Nickelodeon will also mark Dora's anniversary with four primetime TV specials, an original documentary, and new online content for kids and parents.

The Beyond the Backpack initiative will include: a Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign featuring Hayek Pinault and Dora; a fundraising auction of limited edition celebrity designed Dora backpacks around the world (US proceeds to Children's Defense Fund, international funds to education in each country); dorabeyondthebackpack .com, a dedicated website launching in April, offering downloadables for parents and teachers; and local community activities.

The Children's Defense Fund and PTA, along with a range of experts, will inform an advisory committee. The PTA will also help with distribution of educational materials through their infrastructure and will c0-author a parent's toolkit for distribution.

Nickelodeon will premiere the first of the new primetime Dora the Explorer specials, Swiper the Explorer, on Sunday, March 21, at 8p.

In mid-August, in conjunction with Dora's official anniversary, the network will air the one-hour primetime special, Dora's Big Birthday Adventure. The Nickelodeon commissioned documentary is produced by Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) and also slated to debut on the network in August.