| Nina and the Neurons | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Scotland |
| Production | |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBeebies |
Nina and the Neurons is a programme shown on the CBeebies channel aimed at four to six-year-olds to help them understand basic science. Nina is a neuroscientist[1] who enlists the help of her Neurons (five animated characters representing the senses) in her brain to answer a scientific question.
The show is produced by Lucille McLaughlin, who has also produced the children's programmes Balamory and Me Too!. The series is commissioned by CBeebies Controller, Michael Carrington.
Contents |
The beginning of the programme is based at Glasgow Science Centre where Nina conducts experiments in front of an audience of children. At the end of the lecture Nina is 'contacted' by a child, who appears on a television screen asking a science-related question. Nina then chooses one or more of five Neurons based upon which of the senses is most appropriate to answer the question. Nina then visits the child and with the help of their friends and family (called the 'experimenters') uses simple and fun experiments to answer the child's question. At the end of each show the Neurons discuss what they have done and the individual role they have played.
The main character of Nina is played by Scottish actress Katrina Bryan. Nina wears either a white lab coat with brightly coloured cuffs and lapels in her lab, or one of a bright yellow coat or blue jacket when outside. In the programme, Nina drives either a pale blue 1970s Volkswagen Type 2 (Transporter) minibus or a New MINI, both bearing numberplates reading 'NINA', or rides a bicycle in the Go ECO! version.
The Neurons are computer animated characters (stylised with human facial features and body, but no legs) and are named to reflect the five senses which they represent:
Felix, voiced by James Dreyfus in the first series but subsequently by Lewis MacLeod represents touch. He speaks in a posh accent and is particular about his appearance.
Belle, voiced by Kelly Harrison represents hearing. She is loud and can be bossy.
Luke, voiced by Patrice Naiambana, represents sight and is the group leader. His character is laid back and relaxed.
Ollie, voiced by Siobhan Redmond represents smell. She is described as 'sweet, self assured and a bit of a goth.'[2] She is the elder sister of Bud.
Bud, voiced by Sharon Small represents the taste neuron. He is the youngest Neuron and can be enthusiastic and easily excited.
Bud and Ollie are often chosen together by Nina due to the way taste and smell work together.
There is a themed Nina & the Neurons activity trail at the Glasgow Science Centre.
The show began on February 26, 2007 and ended on March 30, 2007. The 2nd series began airing on Cbeebies on March 31, 2008 and ended on May 2, 2008 it was followed by Nina and the Neurons Go Eco, on 13 June 2008 as part of CBeebies' year-long green initiative called EcoBeebies, the Eco series ended on August 15, 2008. A fourth series called Nina and the Neurons Go Inventing started on May 18, 2009 where Nina invites several young inventors to her lab to discover how things work by inventing their own versions, the series ended on June 19, 2009. The fifth series, In The Lab, was broadcast from 27 September 2010 to 10 December 2010.
(The titles for Series 1 and 2 are from Digiguide[6])
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