MARYSVILLE — Nate Adams is only 3 years old, but he’s already become a celebrity, if only for a moment.

Nate, a Marysville preschooler, appeared on PICME, a program on the Sprout television network, between 8-9 p.m. July 7, and Nate’s mom, Heidi, was as excited as her son to see his smiling face on the screen.

Heidi appreciates the fact that Sprout’s programming is designed to be safe for viewers from ages 2-5, regardless of when they watch throughout the day, and she noted that Nate’s sister, Lorelai, even learned sign language from it.

Barbara Murphy, speaking on behalf of Sprout, explained that its programming is designed to engage parents and children alike, not just while they’re watching the shows themselves, but also by referring families to Internet and real-life activities they can share, from cooking recipes, craft-making instructions and artwork guides to features such as PICME, which allows parents to send photos of their children to the Sprout network via their Web site.

From there, entries are selected at random, and those winning children have their digital images superimposed onto animated bodies, allowing them to “guest-star” on episodes of PICME, right alongside the show’s regular cast of characters.

Nate’s smiling face appeared in the PICME episode “Neville’s New Mouse,” and Heidi admitted that “it was a little weird” for the family to see him on TV.

“I DVRed it, and then called everyone into the bedroom later to watch,” Heidi Adams said. “He couldn’t quite figure out how his face got into the TV,” she laughed. “He’s our little TV star.”