Actor and television host Steve Burns is taking the stage at PTK Catalyst 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Steve is the original host for the long-running children’s preschool television program Blue’s Clues, which aired from 1996 until 2002. On the show, Steve, equipped with his handy dandy notebook and thinking chair, worked with his puppy Blue to find three clues to something they were trying to figure out. Steve and Blue would pause and invite the audience to interact.
For his work on the show, Steve received a nomination for a Daytime Emmy.
In 2002, Steve left Blue’s Clues, but he returned for the 25-year anniversary in a viral social media video in which he – in character as the host of the show – explained reassuringly that he had never forgotten the viewers after leaving to go to college, and marveling at how much each of them had experienced since then.
People viewed Steve as having raised a generation of children, and his return was unexpectedly profound. The video sparked fond feelings of nostalgia in his viewers who had grown up since his departure from the show.
According to The New York Times, it “struck a chord among many viewers, raising feelings of nostalgia and childhood comfort, especially juxtaposed with global crises like the coronavirus pandemic and extreme weather linked to climate change.”
The series was rebooted as Blue’s Clues and You. Steve serves as frequent writer, director, producer, and occasional guest star.
In addition to his work on Blue’s Clues and Blue’s Clues and You, Steve is also a musician and frequent host and storyteller for NPR’s The Moth.
As a musician, he collaborates with Grammy award winners The Flaming Lips, with whom he released critically acclaimed album Songs for Dustmites and Foreverywhere, an album for children. Burns also wrote and performs the theme song for Young Sheldon on CBS.
As a speaker, Burns refines and re-examines the message of empowerment and exceptionalism he delivered to a generation of children- carrying the thoughtful, care-driven conversation he began in their childhoods into their now-hoods as they struggle with the demands and realities of adulting.
Steve will take the stage at PTK Catalyst 2025 on Friday, April 4, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Register today to see Steve Burns at PTK Catalyst 2025.
