FT. WORTH, Texas, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Is a koala actually a bear? Does a porcupine float on water? Does a dolphin sleep with one eye open?

These questions and many more will be asked and answered by Ft. Worth Metro-area children and their families when Animal Planet and Charter Communications bring the live version of the popular game show, ANIMAL PLANET ZOOVENTURE, to North East Mall on Saturday, June 23, at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. Featuring the show's host, J.D. Roth, ZOOVENTURE is a kid-friendly, fun and free experience that will ask kids to play the role of junior zookeeper as they compete for prizes in a series of messy, out-of-this-world games that test their knowledge of the animal kingdom.

"We are thrilled to join Animal Planet in bringing the live version of ZooVenture to the Ft. Worth Metro area," said Sherry Gearner, regional director of government affairs for Charter Communications. "Not only are we committed to bringing quality, family-oriented television such as Animal Planet into the homes of our subscribers everyday, but we also want to bring cable to life for the families in our community with exciting hands-on experiences like ZooVenture."

Similar to the on-air program, the live version of ZOOVENTURE calls on Ft. Worth Metro-area audience participants to delve deep into their knowledge of the natural world and answer trivia questions, solve puzzles, engage in fast- paced matching games and even identify unique animal sounds. ZOOVENTURE presents participants with hands-on, interactive challenges that go beyond entertainment to help educate kids and their families about the animal world.

"Animal Planet and Charter Communications recognize the importance of education when it comes to kids," said Roth. "We want to add to the positive experience they get from watching Animal Planet. When a kid comes to a ZooVenture event, they not only learn about an elephant, they get to become an elephant."

Like any real animal expert, competitors are asked to get "down and dirty" by performing the physical tasks of a ZOOVENTURE zookeeper including: sitting on giant "eggs" (actually balloons filled with water) in a mongoose game to "hatch" the eggs; feeding baby birds (by snaring gummi worms-hidden in chocolate "mud"-with their mouths); launching giant spiders into the "world wide web" and more. Parents can also get in on the action with their kids and learn how bees "pollinate" flowers (by covering their flower-headed child with peanut butter and tossing jelly beans to see how many they can get to stick).

Since 1997, ZOOVENTURE has visited almost 100 cities all over the world, including such exotic places as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Auckland, New Zealand.

Contestant winners who successfully navigate the live ZOOVENTURE world will be awarded an Animal Planet stuffed animal and all kids who participate will receive t-shirts and other fun goodies courtesy of Animal Planet and Charter Communications.

Adding to the complete animal experience, the Fort Worth Zoo will provide live animal presentations on Saturday, June 23, at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. in between the ZOOVENTURE shows. The Fort Worth Zoo's "Wild Wonders" program provides guests with a unique opportunity to learn about the animal kingdom. Animals such as a penguin and clouded leopard are just a few of the animals that will be on display at the North East Mall. The Zoo is home to more than 5,000 animals including koalas, meerkats, gorillas, bears, penguins, an on- site aquarium and a world-famous reptile collection. Supporting more than 20 conservation projects around the globe, the Zoo was recently honored with the American Zoo & Aquarium Association's top conservation award for its work benefiting the endangered Jamaican iguana. For more information on the Fort Worth Zoo, visit http://www.fortworthzoo.org .

ANIMAL PLANET ZOOVENTURE airs seven days a week from 7:00-7:30AM (CT). Viewers should check their local listings to find the channel number that Animal Planet appears on Charter Communications' cable system.

Charter Communications, a Wired World(TM) company, is among the nation's largest broadband communications companies and serves 6.3 million customers. Charter offers an array of advanced broadband services, including cable television, advanced digital video programming services and high-speed Internet access. Charter is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "CHTR" (Nasdaq: CHTR). More information about Charter can be found on the Internet at http://www.charter.com .

ANIMAL PLANET ZOOVENTURE is produced for Animal Planet by Mark Goodson Productions, a subsidiary of All American Communications, Inc., the foremost producer of television game shows in the world. For Mark Goodson Productions, Bob Noah is executive producer and Bianca Pino is producer. For Animal Planet, David E. Gerber is executive producer and director of production and Margo Kent-Green is supervising producer.

Launched in October 1996, and now available in more than 70 million homes, Animal Planet offers a wide range of television entertainment including dramatic reality-based series, talk shows, original fictional programming, high quality children's shows, documentaries, and more. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, and Discovery en Espanol. The unit also markets and distributes BBC America. Visit Animal Planet on the Web at http://www.Discovery.com .

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SOURCE Animal Planet and Charter Communications

CONTACT: Tami von Isakovics of Goodman Media International, 703-837-9500 ext. 228, for Animal Planet; Reenie Gottschalk of Animal Planet, 301-771-5083; or Sherry Gearner of Charter Communications, 817-509-6272 ext. 3313/