Kari Byron, courtesy Discover Networks
HEAD RUSH
This is a programming note, but I am so going to be recording this one on my DVR.
Head Rush, premiering today at 4 p.m. on Science Channel, is basically re-purposed and re-edited episodes of Discovery Channel’s fave series Mythbusters, with Mythbuster Kari Byron doing experiments and narrating clips in place of the commercials.
It’s aimed at middle schoolers AND WE’VE GOT A WOMAN DOING SCIENCE!!!!
I talked to Byron last Friday, and among other things, she pointed out that when she was growing up, it was all about the old White guys in lab coats. And she figured that wasn’t an option for her. So she wants girls to see a woman doing experiments and having fun with science.
Yes, science does get hard and it’s right around this age, when girls are starting to get wiggy about boys. They’re also bombarded by a popular culture that pushes images of them being sexy and using their femaleness as a weapon. Ick. So shows like this are incredibly important – not just for our boys, who need to be encouraged to explore math and the sciences, too. It’s just that much harder for girls, who seldom see female role models taking the lead in these areas.
We can’t keep our girls from seeing all those negative images. But we can provide alternatives. Byron said that she hopes kids will watch this show with their parents and that all of the experiments she does on the show can be done at home – unlike the ones on Mythbusters, itself.
It’s the parents, Byron said, who set the pace for their kids and they’re the ones who will determine which cultural images will have the most influence. And Byron is particularly aware of how important modeling that behavior is. She has a one-year-old daughter who has taken to carrying a purse around the house, just like Mommy.
So check it out and let us know what you think.
