Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters were interviewed this morning on NPR's Morning Edition. You can read the article and listen to the story HERE. The story talks about how their show demonstrates science principles, and models well the scientific process without being a "boring educational show." B and I have loved this show for years, and it really channels B's inner 12 year old. He loves it when they blow stuff up.
We have just recently started letting Emily watch it at age 10. Mostly because just about each episode has some language bleeped out. There are certain episodes she doesn't need to watch, like the one where they are deliberately getting intoxicated to test out sobering techniques. And the commercials aren't always appropriate, so we TiVo to be able to skip certain ads.
Lately Em's been watching this episode:
They tried this experiment at school, and she reported with delight that Mr. S "should have worn a raincoat" as he did not get clear of the soda fountain before it shot up. She has been fascinated with the analysis of why this reaction happens, and I love that she is seeing and hearing their thought process as they test with a control and remove and add variables to hone in on the actual cause of the reaction.
Emily loves science programs, but as the NPR article outlines, there aren't many science programs for kids out there now. They mention some new ones for the preschool set, but other than reruns and videos of Magic School Bus and Bill Nye (both of which my daughter loves), there isn't much for the tween group.
Are there any science gems out there that I am missing? What sorts of things do your science lovers get jazzed about?
