Bill Nye will receive a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the fourth annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards next month.
NATAS also announced Thursday the 2026 Children’s & Families Gold Circle and Silver Circle Honor Society Hall of Fame inductees, as well as the Children’s & Family Emmy Award recipients for individual achievement and outstanding public service initiatives in animation. Winners include PBS’s “Carl the Collector,” as well as Netflix’s “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “Ultraman: Rising,” “Gentry Chow vs. Underworld” and “Spellbound,” HBO Max’s “Daffy in Wackleyland,” Paramount+’s “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and Disney+’s “Win or Includes the cast of “Lost.”
Mr. Nye is recognized for his accomplishments as a science educator, engineer, television host, inventor, and New York Times bestselling author. His television appearances include “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” among other shows. In 2025, Nye was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Biden. He is on the Time 100 Health List, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and served for 15 years as CEO of the Planetary Society, a nongovernmental space organization co-founded by Carl Sagan.
“Mr. Nye is one of the most respected broadcast educators in television history, instilling in generations of children an appreciation for the extraordinary world of science,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO of NATAS. “We are honored to celebrate his career, as well as the esteemed careers of this year’s Gold and Silver Circle Hall of Fame inductees and individual honorees, with this year’s incredible nominees who are building on their work in children’s programming that matters today.”
Nye said in a statement: “This is a great honor. Thank you. As you may know, I put my heart and soul into every show I work on. I believe the scientific process is the best idea ever conceived by humanity. I create shows that encourage children of all ages to embrace the P, B, and J (passion, beauty, and joy) of science. I have spent my life doing what I love, and this award not only celebrates my accomplishments, but also reminds us of the impact we can have when we choose to invest in science education and the next generation of leaders.”
Meanwhile, the winners of the Individual Achievement in Animation Award (in each of the six animation areas) and Outstanding Public Service Initiative, as determined by a panel of judges, are:
great public service initiative
“Carl the Collector” (PBS)
Individual Excellence in Animation – Background Design
Bastien Grivet, Visual Development Artist, “Star Trek: Prodigy” (Netflix)
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Animation – Character Animation
James Sanders Animator “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix)
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Animation – Character Animation
Max Winston, Animation and Producer, “Daffy in Wackleyland” (HBO Max)
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Animation – Character Design
Kaloyan Asannasov, Character Designer, “Gentry Chow vs. Underworld” (Netflix)
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Animation – Color
Mark Anthony Mohammed, Color Supervisor, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount+)
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Production Design
Brett Nistal, Production Designer, “Spellbound” (Netflix)
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Animation – Storyboarding
Esteban Bravo, Storyboard Artist, “Win or Lose” (Disney+)
Also here are the 2026 inductees into the Gold and Silver Circle Honor Society of the Children and Families Community. The Hall of Fame inductees are “distinguished professionals who have achieved outstanding achievement and made lasting contributions to the continued excellence of the television industry” for at least 50 or 25 years, respectively.
Gold Circle – 2026 Children and Families Hall of Fame 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 and Families Hall of Fame 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 Vane, executive, producer, and manager of Gotham Group. Atlas Management; Nelvana Animation. William Morris Agency Alan Muraoka, Cast, Director, Producer – Sesame Workshop (Sesame Street). PBS; HBO; Disney Channel; Olney Theater Center; Paul Siefken, President and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions; Head of Production – PBS; Cartoon Network Rosemarie Truglio, Sesame Workshop Senior Vice President of Global Education – Sesame Workshop/Sesame Street. PBS
Ms. Nye’s honor and other accomplishments will be recognized at the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards Ceremony on March 1st, and the winner of this year’s competition will be announced at the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards Ceremony on March 2nd. Both ceremonies will take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York.
