New Science Series Premieres Nationwide on PBS Stations
and at pbskidsgo.org/SciGirls
Does your tween girl realize that Madame Curie is as cool as Miley Cyrus? That she can be an athlete and a “mathlete?” That she and her friends can explore the world and the mall?
They’ll learn all of this and more on SciGirls, the new weekly science show premiering on PBS stations and online nationwide February 2010. (Check local listings.)
The goal of SciGirls is bold: to change how millions of girls think about science, technology, engineering and math. (That spells “S.T.E.M.,” the hottest topic in U.S. education today.) The program’s half-hour episodes and its destination website at http://pbskids.org/scigirls/ showcase bright, curious girls putting S.T.E.M. to work to make the world a better place. They’re joined by two animated characters – a plucky SciGirl named Izzie and her best friend Jake, who tie the series together with their ongoing adventures.
SciGirls, which is funded by the National Science Foundation with additional support from ExxonMobil, integrates TV and the Web like never before. Each TV episode begins on the site’s homepage, where Izzie goes when she finds herself in jams that only science can fix. She surfs to the site, jumps into a video of real-life SciGirls, and follows their story, learning and exploring every step of the way. Izzie also invites viewers to hang out on the website, a totally safe social network where girls can create personal pages, design their own avatars, upload cool projects, and make friends. It’s all about tweens and screens in today’s multi-tasking world – the TV, the laptop, the phone and the iPod, and SciGirls is on them all!
On SciGirls, investigations are only limited by imagination. Shot in reality TV, verité style, girls and their mentors dive deep to investigate dolphin behavior, engineer a giant mechanical puppet, unearth the archaeological secrets of extinct Native American cultures, create an eco-friendly turtle habitat, design fierce fashions with a high-tech twist and much more.
Every girl can be a SciGirl!
The SciGirls creative team is headed by tpt Executive Producer Richard Hudson, creator of the long-running PBS children’s science series Newton’s Apple and DragonflyTV. Series Producer is Kathy Shugrue co-creator of Fetch! and producer of Zoom at WGBH. The Izzie animation is created by Soup2Nuts, producers of WordGirl. The website is being developed by Big Bad Tomato Interactive. tpt National Productions’ quality, creativity and innovation have earned both popular and critical acclaim, garnering more than 300 awards for artistic and technical achievement, including 25 national and regional Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia Commendation, three Peabody Awards, an Academy Award nomination and awards at major international film festivals. tpt National Productions’ websites also have been honored with Parents’ Choice and PBS Web awards, and its outreach resources have been lauded and utilized by educators, community leaders and parents nationwide.
SciGirls is generously funded by The National Science Foundation with additional support from ExxonMobil.
I was never into Science when I was younger, but after reading about this show and playing around on the free website, I think it is perfect to get girls excited about science. I think it is important for girls to understand that it is okay to be smart and like subjects like science and math, I wish I had paid more attention to them than boys. Even if a young girl is not a total science fan, there are still some great activities and lessons that can be learned from both the show and online.
WATCH IT: Visit PBS.org to see when SciGirls is on in your area!
GIVEAWAY: One lucky winner will receive a prize pack of goodies featuring the SciGirls!
WIN IT: Comment on what you like about the SciGirls!
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