Thursday, January 22, 2004

Engineering 101

My favourite kids' show is Tiny Planets, featuring two animated creatures named Bing and Bong, "heroes of the universe." At the beginning of each episode they are given a mission, to salvage some desperate situation on a faraway planet, that centers around a key point of physics (usually). Some examples:

Episode 2 "Snow Problem"
Educational Concept: Rain and snow are different forms of water.

Episode 44 "Flocker Flicker"
Educational Concept: Animation works by presenting a series of still pictures very quickly, one after the other. The result is that the pictures appear to move.

Episode 47 "Flower Power"
Educational Concept: Sound can be directed (Megaphone) so that the listener hears it more loudly.

It's amazing! Helena's a little young to fully grasp these concepts, I know; but I try to watch this show regularly with her, hoping to instill a sense of and wonder at how things work.

(Bong not required for full entertainment value.)

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