In the latter third of the 20th century, American children learned valuable life lessons by merely sitting in front of the TV set on a Saturday morning. Example: Be sure to let the Cap’n Crunch soak in the milk for a few minutes before consuming, or risk shredding the roof of your mouth with the cereal’s glass-like shards.

A fact as true today as it was when it was discovered.

But there’s so much more. We learned poise and panache from the Pink Panther, keeping his cool through all manner of mischief, wearing nothing but a sly smile. We developed problem-solving skills as Scooby-Doo and friends meddled in the affairs of crooked real estate developers. We peeked into a Jetson future and a Flintstone past (sometimes crossing over with The Great Gazoo). And we learned to avoid vertical vegetation whilst swinging on vines. “George, George, George of the Jungle. Friend to you and me. Watch out for that tree!”

These days, Saturday-morning TV offerings are meager at best. So The New Parkway community movie theater in Oakland’s Uptown district (www.thenewparkway.com) — long known for its offbeat programming, cozy couches and yummy food/bevs — will fill this educational void with its new Cereal Cinema series, starting at 10 a.m. on June 11 and running the second Saturday morning each month.

For a $10 ticket, kids and adult kids will get classic cartoons and an all-you-can-eat cereal bar. Be advised, this is 21st-century Bay Area Saturday mornings, so don’t expect Sugar Bear on your cereal box. There will be Chex, Kashi and Cheerios, plus gluten-free and dairy-free options.

Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Contact Angela Hill at ahill@bayareanewsgroup.com, or follow her on Twitter @GiveEmHill.