The Curiosity Show
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The Curiosity Show was an Australian educational children's television show produced from 1972 to 1990, hosted by Prof. Rob Morrison and Dr. Deane Hutton. The show was produced by Banksia Productions in South Australia for the Nine Network. 149 episodes were produced.
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[edit] History
Banksia Productions produced the popular children's series Here's Humphrey from 1965. The company planned to add some science segments in 1971 and sought assistance from the then South Australian Institute of Technology. Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton were selected as presenters and the segments were introduced as Humphrey B Bear's Curiosity Show. After positive reception from the audience, Banksia Productions and the Nine Network agreed to produce a spin off series. Planning commenced with the working title The F Show.[1]
[edit] Format
From 1972 to 1980 the format was a 60 minute show presented by Rob Morrison, Deane Hutton, Ian Fairweather and Alister Smart. The emphasis was on science but also included general craft and music.
From 1980 the show was reduced to 30 minutes, presented by Morrison and Hutton, with emphasis on science, nature and the environment.
The programme placed a strong emphasis on practical demonstrations of various science topics, and included activities such as floating a ping-pong ball on a stream of air, setting off a room full of mouse traps, and freezing objects with liquid nitrogen.
Many segments described a sequence of steps to build something out of common household materials, and invariably ended with the phrase "here's one I prepared earlier". Hutton's catchphrase, after presenting a hypothesis he postulates the audience may be curious about, was to declare "well I'm glad you asked," before responding to the hypothesis. The use of household materials was initially due to the very low budget allocated for production, but this proved popular with the young audience who could easily replicate the demonstrations at home.
[edit] Spin offs
Four companion books were available in the late 1980s containing scientific explanations and instructions for experiments for children to perform at home. Each of the books was themed upon one of the four Western classical elements of earth, air, fire and water.
The Children's Television Workshop wanted to make a version of the Curiosity Show using American scientists as presenters. Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton were consultants in the early planning stages. PBS didn't think that middle aged scientists would engage a young audience (despite the popularity of the format in Australia) and insisted that any science show be hosted/presented by young people. CTW eventually reworked the concept into 3-2-1 Contact.
[edit] References
- ^ According to Deane Hutton, the working title resulted from the single word uttered by producer Ian Fairweather when told he was to make a science show for children.
