Bill Nye To Receive Lifetime Achievement Honors at 2026 Children’s & Family Emmy® Awards

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Emmy® Award-winning television presenter and science educator  Bill Nye will be the Lifetime Achievement Honoree at the 4th Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards. This prestigious honor, as well as the other following honorees, will be presented during the Children’s & Family Emmys Honors Ceremony on March 1. The winners of this year’s competitive competition will be revealed during the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards Ceremony on March 2. Both ceremonies will take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City.

NATAS has also announced the 2026 inductees to the Gold and Silver Circle Honor Society in the Children’s & Family community. Inductees are exceptional professionals who have performed distinguished service and made enduring contributions to the continued excellence of the television industry for at least 50 or 25 years, respectively.

Gold Circle – 2026 Children’s & Family Inductees: 

• Vince Deadrick Jr., Stunt Coordinator and Performer – Nickelodeon Studios; CBS; Paramount; Universal; ABC

• Michael Frith, Producer, Creative & Design Consultant – The Jim Henson Company, Sirius Thinking, No Strings

Silver Circle – 2026 Children’s & Family Inductees: 

• Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Children’s Media Innovator – PBS Kids

• Amy Friedman, Executive Producer – Redhead Consulting; Nickelodeon; Universal Kids (NBCUniversal); Warner Bros. Discovery; Cartoon Network; Aspen Institute; Kidscreen

• Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Executive, Producer, Manager – The Gotham Group; Atlas Management; Nelvana Animation; William Morris Agency

• Alan Muraoka, Performer, Director, Producer – Sesame Workshop (Sesame Street); PBS; HBO; Disney Channel; Olney Theatre Center

• Paul Siefken, President and CEO, Fred Rogers Productions; Production Executive – PBS; Cartoon Network

• Rosemarie Truglio, Senior VP of Global Education at Sesame Workshop – Sesame Workshop/Sesame Street; PBS

Finally, NATAS has announced this year’s honorees for Individual Achievement in Animation in each of the six animation disciplines, as well as for Outstanding Public Service Initiative, all of which were determined by juried panels.

Outstanding Public Service Initiative

Carl the Collector, PBS

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Background Design

Bastien Grivet, Visual Development Artist

Star Trek: Prodigy, Netflix

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Character Animation

James Saunders, Animator

Ultraman: Rising, Netflix

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation  – Character Animation

Max Winston, Animated and Fabricated By

Daffy in Wacklyland, HBO | Max

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Character Design

Kaloyan Athannassov, Character Designer

Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld, Netflix

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Color

Mark Anthony Mohamed, Color Supervisor

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paramount+

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Production Design

Brett Nystul, Production Designer

Spellbound, Netflix

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Storyboard

Esteban Bravo, Storyboard Artist

Win or Lose, Disney+

“Mr. Nye is one of the most revered broadcast educators in television history, having instilled multiple generations of children with an appreciation for the extraordinary world of science,” said Adam Sharp, NATAS President and CEO. “It is an honor to celebrate his career, as well as the esteemed careers of this year’s Gold and Silver Circle inductees and individual honorees, alongside this year’s fantastic nominees who are building upon their work with important children’s programming today.”

“This is quite an honor. Thank you. As you may know, I pretty much put my heart and soul into all the shows I’ve worked on.” said Nye. “I believe that the process of science is the best idea humans have ever had. I loved making shows that encouraged kids of all ages to embrace the P, B, and J – the Passion, Beauty, and Joy – of science, while also showing that you, the viewer, can change the world. I’ve spent my life doing what I love, and this award is not only a celebration of my past work, but a reminder of the impact we can have if we choose to invest in science education and the next generation of leaders.”

Bill Nye is an American science educator, engineer, television presenter, inventor, and New York Times bestselling author. As the co-creator and host of the Emmy Award-winning 90’s television series Bill Nye the Science Guy, Nye helped introduce generations of viewers to science and engineering in an entertaining and accessible manner, fostering an understanding and appreciation for the science that makes our world work. Today, he is a respected champion of scientific literacy who has challenged opponents of evidence-based education and policy on climate change, evolution, and critical thinking. In 2025, Nye was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Biden in recognition of his dedication to science education, included in the TIME 100 Health list for his advocacy on behalf of Ataxia, a rare genetic disease affecting his family, and received a star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame as a testament to his legacy and lasting impact on the entertainment industry. Nye served as CEO of The Planetary Society, the world’s largest and most influential non-governmental space organization co-founded by Carl Sagan, for 15 years, and is now the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Ambassador for the organization. He earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and currently resides in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA with his wife.

About the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is a service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy® Awards for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime and Children’s & Family  programming, as well as achievements in television Technology & Engineering.

NATAS membership is made up of National members joined by more than 18,000+ broadcast and media professionals represented in 19 regional chapters across the country. Beyond awards, NATAS has extensive educational programs including its National Student Production Awards for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships for aspiring filmmakers and broadcasters.

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