1. laelaps
  2. Where have all the science shows gone?

Where have all the science shows gone?

By laelaps on February 24, 2008.

When I was younger, there always seemed to be some show about science on television. Outside of the documentaries on PBS, the Discovery Channel, or even A&E, there was a whole slew of science shows for kids that generally have become extinct without replacement (although some still live on in reruns). Here are the intros to the shows I can remember watching on Saturday mornings and after school;


















[I couldn't find the intro for Beakman's World, so here's a clip about elephants instead.]





There may be one or two that I left out, but even if I did there was obviously a glut of science (and math) centered programs on from the mid-80's through the mid-90's. There was a lot of junk on TV, too, but I was usually exposed to some neat experiment or idea every day because of one of these shows. Maybe I'm just an oddball, though; not every kid bugged their parents to go to museums, aquariums, or buy stacks of books about sharks & dinosaurs.

Tags
television

More like this

Spotlight on X-STEM Speaker Dr. Michael Shermer!
X-STEM - presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune - is an Extreme STEM symposium for elementary through high school students featuring interactive presentations by an exclusive group of visionaries who aim to empower and inspire kids about careers in science, technology, engineering…
Don Herbert, 1917 - 2007
Don Herbert died yesterday, just short of his 90th year. Don Herbert was host of television's Watch Mr. Wizard, a Saturday morning live TV show that had a run of 547 episodes from 1951 to 1965. He was an important figure in the youth of many of today's scientists. The weekly 30-minute show…
Kids Those Days, Parents These Days
Back when I was a kid, and dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I spent about a week one summer staying with a great-aunt in Arlington, VA. I don't remember exactly when-- some time in the early 1980's-- and I don't remember where my parents and sister were at the time. I recall that they came down later…
Are toddlers incapable of learning from TV?
There's lots of evidence that most TV isn't beneficial to toddlers, and it may even be harmful. But can't kids learn from TV too? Isn't that supposed to be what shows like Teletubbies, Barney, and Sesame street are all about? For older children, three and above, it does seem to be true that some…

I remember a few of those, too (of course, I lived out in the boonies of AZ and CA and didn't see PBS until I was about 12).

As to what happened to them? My guess is that they have been progressively defunded (either through lack of grants (public) or lack of advertising (commercial)). The last thing big business needs is a bunch of consumers and voters with good critical thinking skills.

I was terribly obsessed with dinosaurs... until pokemon hit like a wave of cute, quirky, japanese nonsense.

I miss Square 1. Those were some great afternoons spent watching Square 1 and 3-2-1 Contact. Thanks for the reminder!