Launched in January 1988, Kids Corner was a radio program produced by WXPN-FM, of the University of Pennsylvania. Its primary mission was to provide entertaining and educational programming for children.

Kids Corner did this by involving kids in interactive segments, designed to educate, as well as to celebrate and respect their experience as youth. Kids Corner strived to reach kids through a variety of media and served as a resource for parents, educators, and professionals in child-related fields.

For over four decades Kids Corner was committed to being a safe place for kids, where they could feel comfortable about themselves, while their parents felt secure about their children’s involvement. They accomplished this mission by:

• Providing a stimulating variety of educational and entertainment experiences appropriate for the six to thirteen-year-old.
• Preparing program content based on principles of learning, input from teachers, parents, children, and other child advocates, and with an understanding of listener attitudes and behaviors.
• Giving kids the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, talent, and abilities in a public way that affirms their ego and supports their own individual uniqueness.
• Providing kids with opportunities to hear and interact with others, broadening their awareness of various social and ethnic groups.
• Creating an atmosphere of fun where kids can enjoy being kids.

Kids Corner was America’s longest-running call-in radio show for kids, celebrating its 38th anniversary in 2026 – the same year that, after nearly fifty years of working behind a microphone, host Kathy O’Connell announced her retirement.

As Kathy WAS Kids Corner, the show ended with her in June 2026.