deGrasse Tyson trying to sing, photo courtesy PBS
NOVA scienceNOW may be intended as a video magazine for adults, but it’s a fun show for kids, too. The fourth season kicks off tonight on PBS at 9 p.m. (but check your local listings because your local member station may have changed the time). It’s part of PBS’ Super Science Tuesdays programming block for the summer.
But getting back to deGrasse Tyson – the man obviously knows his stuff and has that scientific mind and all that. But he’s one of those rare individuals who can not only translate that knowledge for lay people, he can infuse it with a real passion for knowing and finding out.
Consider the opening to tonight’s segment on human-made diamonds (note to self – we do have to get the scienceNOW people on board with the gender-neutral language). Using special effects, deGrasse Tyson does a wonderful take off on Raiders of the Lost Ark, that not only is silly, but it explains perfectly what we’re about to see.
It gets even sillier when deGrasse Tyson does the segment on AutoTune – software that the recording industry has been using for years to correct badly sung notes. Warning – deGrasse Tyson gives them lots of badly sung notes to correct.
The point is, not only do we get some fascinating information about what’s going on in the world of science, but it’s presented in a way that’s fun and engaging.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t the numbers-crunching, coding, grunt-work side of science. But you’re not going to get kids to be open to that without getting them excited about the process, first. And we need girls to get excited about it as much as we need boys to. Now, if only we could find an exciting show that can show the direct link between learning boring old algebra and making diamonds…
Anne Louise Bannon
Your Family Viewer
