SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : Now entering ‘Weinerville’ on Nickelodeon, where the puppets are people too

Sticking his head through a hole in a wall has worked out quite nicely for comedian and performance artist Marc Weiner. Now in its second season, Nickelodeon Weinerville continues to bring Weiner’s half-man/half-puppet learning adventures to the cable network.

Weiner, whose cartoonish sets have openings for a human head and a puppet body, has turned a onetime gag into skits that he says “entertain, while getting a message in there.”

Residents of Weinerville include Dottie, the town’s popular mayor; Boney, the disgruntled dinosaur; Baby Jeffrey, every mother’s nightmare, and Socko, the tough guy. All the characters are played by Weiner, who occasionally has an audience member join in. The show is shot live at the Nickelodeon studios near Orlando, Fla.

Several celebrities will be joining Weiner this season, including Dr. Joyce Brothers, Melissa Joan Hart (“Clarissa Explains It All”), Mary Hart, John Tesh and Harry Smith. “My goal is to get very celebrity-’Weinerized,’ ” he says.

Past shows have dealt with teaching kids about safety, the political system, environmental issues, Hollywood and even dating.

“Nickelodeon Weinerville” airs weekdays at 3:30-4 p.m. and Sundays 2-3 p.m. on Nickelodeon.

Conservation is a serious message to television’s Jack Hanna, but animals’ innate ebullience lends a light side to his Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures, now in its second season.

“Nothing’s ever set up,” he says from his office at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, where he’s director. “On last week’s show, ‘Water Babies,’ there’s a point where a whale blew water all over my face and it was really funny. You can’t script an animal.”

Hanna, whose “ZooLife” ran for two years in syndication, has been the director of the Columbus Zoo for 16 years. Education and entertainment go hand-in-hand for him. Summing up the show he says, “We try and teach the conservation message in an entertaining way.”

“Adventures” expands the original “ZooLife” format, which was set exclusively in zoos and featured Hanna interacting with the animals. “Adventures” will travel throughout the world this season with planned excursions to Africa, Australia, the Guatemalan rain forest and the Galapagos Islands. Hannah also gets a bit closer to home in the United States, with visits to Alaska, Florida and the California desert.

“The show’s a way to point out that because of people, animals have problems,” he says. “What I’m trying to do is show how we can alleviate that; it’s hard to do in a fun way, but the animals help us out.”

“Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures” airs Saturday at noon on KABC. For ages 4 and up.

More Family Shows

Sunday’s special “Mother and Child: A Mother’s Day Celebration” explores the bond between mother and child from conception through the early years. The Learning Channel airs The Mystery of Birth, Cesarean Section and Babywatching (9 a.m. to noon, and noon to 3 p.m.). For parents.

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A super hero will be hangin’ with the homeboys this week as The New Adventures of Captain Planet (Friday 6:30-7 p.m. TNT, 7-7:30 p.m. TBS, 7:30-8 p.m. Cartoon Network; Saturday 6:30-7 a.m. KTLA) addresses issues of today’s kids and gang violence. “ ‘Teers in the Hood” focuses on events at an inner-city school after a teacher is shot during a gang war. The Planeteers go undercover and back to school to infiltrate the gangs and catch the criminal. Infused are the civil rights messages of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Neville Brothers’ song tribute to Rosa Parks, “Sister Rosa.” For ages 4 to 12.