LeVar Burton Turns To Kickstarter To Resurrect "Reading Rainbow"

Take a look! It's in a book! Update: The million dollar goal was cleared within 24 hours!

LeVar Burton unveiled a Kickstarter campaign dedicated to bringing back the classic Reading Rainbow.

Via kickstarter.com

A lot has changed in the way kids receive and interact with programming since the show began in 1983. Although the show launched an iPad app in 2009, many viewers don't have access to a tablet.

The new show will aim to create an experience "for today's digitally connected kids delivered through browsers right into schools and homes everywhere."

"Thirty minutes on TV was yesterday's world," Burton says in the Kickstarter video. "Today's kids want today's technology."

The new Reading Rainbow will be web-based and will feature "an unlimited library of books and video field trips."

Via youtube.com

The goal is to make the show as accessible to kids as possible by allowing them to interact with it via several devices, and by placing it in classrooms, free of charge, along with supplementary teaching tools, like "teacher guides, leveling, and dashboards."

The campaign goal is $1M by July 2 at 3 p.m., EDT.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

The rewards for donating are pretty sweet, ranging from Burton's unending gratitude to T-shirts and tote bags to a private dinner with Burton in which you'll be able to wear the original visor that he wore in Star Trek: The Next Generation!

The response was immediate and positive, with the campaign already raising over $250,000.

beckysoll @beckysoll

If the video makes me cry happy tears, I figure I should donate. Plus, Reading Rainbow tote bag!! http://t.co/lCCelbLqkh @levarburton

Wed May 28 17:52:17 UTC+0000 2014

Unusable Huxtable @ShrillCosby

.@LevarBurton is the patron saint of black nerds everywhere and I'm rollin with him wherever he's going.

05:15 PM - 28 May 2014

Sara Benincasa @SaraJBenincasa

I wouldn't be an author without @levarburton, so the first $600 of my advance goes to Reading Rainbow. Thank u sir.

05:45 PM - 28 May 2014

Sean Froyd @SeanFroyd

And you're goddamn right I donated. https://t.co/TjGj8EcTs6

05:41 PM - 28 May 2014

Please consider this an official petition to elect this the new Reading Rainbow theme song.

youtube.com

Correction: The end of the Kickstarter campaign is July 2. An earlier version of this article misstated the deadline.