This excellent Australian junior science show was aimed at children from eight to 14 years of age and looked at living things and the nature of matter, as well as examining how things work and conducting experiments on the nature of physical force.
It originally aired in 1972 in conjunction with Humphrey B Bear, but after going it alone in several different timeslots, it was re-formatted in 1980 to a half-hour programme encouraging learning by doing and giving details for making things and thinking creatively.
Presenters Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton had PhDs in Science, academic teaching positions and study and experience in children’s television. Their calm and unhurried approach ensured everything could be absorbed effectively by young viewers.
A sample episode had Rob and Deane making a periscope, showing how to make a continuous border on cardboard, and how to join straws to make a very long drinking straw, noting the percentage of air and the percentage of juice one obtained when the straws were very tall.
They then showed a film clip of a wasp housing itself, joined plastic sheets with an iron, made a lethal catapult, and ended up making a tetrapod with straws. For uninitiated parents, a tetrapod is four triangles tied together . . .
Australian children regarded the duo as experts on everything and some even wrote or phoned to ask for advice on things not even included on the show.
Presenters Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton had PhDs in Science, academic teaching positions and study and experience in children’s television. Their calm and unhurried approach ensured everything could be absorbed effectively by young viewers.
