The evolution of children’s science TV shows in Ireland

In 1984, Walt Disney coined the term ‘edutainment’ as a way to describe the process of learning and having fun while doing so. Edutainment is seen in children’s TV in varying degrees, from programmes that teach valuable lessons through engaging stories to shows made purely for educational purposes. Many styles of scientific children’s TV exist but mostly fall under the headings of Science, Mathematics, and General STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics).

Viewing habits of children in Ireland have shifted from the early 2000s to now, evident in the migration of many of these shows from broadcast channels to streaming services. With this came the inevitable fall of many of the shows we used to love as kids, and the surfacing of new ones that have filled their stead.

Science

Few children’s TV shows in Ireland focus solely on Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. Many of the shows we see today delve into all the STEM subjects, sometimes extending into arts and culture, but there are a few older shows that highlight what we typically think of as ‘science’.

Backyard Science was an Australian kid’s TV show that aired from 2003 to 2007 and was, like many Australian children’s shows, shown in Ireland. In the vein of the now-popular Myth Busters, Backyard Science focused on children carrying out DIY projects using everyday materials. Like a lot of these early 2000s shows, Backyard Science is now lost to time, archived online but no longer shown on TV.

Octonauts and Wild Kratts both aired around the same time in the 2010s and focused on specific branches of Biology we rarely see on children’s TV today. Octonauts focuses on teaching children about marine life, while Wild Kratts explains general zoological and species concepts. These shows may sound familiar because, as seems required for the longevity of a show, both have migrated from broadcast to Netflix or, in the case of Wild Kratts, put on YouTube for free.

While Backyard Science, Octonauts, and Wild Kratts both blend educational content and entertainment, a more modern show has recently emerged focusing solely on effective and accurate scientific education. Crash Course, founded by John and Hank Green, is a YouTube series and website show that explores the same topics as what is taught in a classroom. As such, many children use it as supplemental material in addition to their at-school learning.

Crash Course, though centered on the educational part of edutainment, uses easy-to-follow language and engaging visuals that make learning fun. Paired with its ease of access, it’s clear why the series has over two billion views, according to the Crash Course website.

Mathematics

Mathematics isn’t a common subject on kids’ TV and is often seen as a smaller part of other general science shows. Two shows that ran on Irish television that showcased mathematical concepts to children were Team Umizoomi and Numberjacks.

Team Umizoomi’s first episode aired in 2010 on Nickelodeon and followed the team—Jeannie, Milli, Geo, and Bot — who used their Mathematical Powers to help fix the missing pieces of Jeannie’s dragon’s kite. For children who struggled with mathematics, Team Umizoomi did a brilliant job of making mathematical concepts a viable way to solve relevant problems.

Originally airing in 2007 on BBC2, CBeebies, and Tiny Pop, Numberjacks was a British TV show about 10 numbers — from 0 through 9 — that lived in the nooks of a family’s couch. Much like many children’s STEM TV shows of the 2000s, both computer animation and live-action were used to create the world of the Numberjacks.

The Numberjacks are given missions by real-life children called Agents about problems in the real world that can be solved through counting and numbers. The show’s charm was in its pure surrealism. Imagine this; a family of numbers that use their number powers to solve number-related problems in the real human world. Each number has its own personality depending on its ‘age’, or the number itself, with 0 being a small baby and 9 being the oldest.

The sheer creativity and absurdity of the show is what makes it so memorable. At the time, it was a much-loved show that helped children visualise numbers and their effects. Since 2017, Numberjacks has been replaced with Numberblocks, a bright, colourful, and more accessible version of the former show.

One thing that can be observed with children’s shows filmed in the late 2010s and 2020s is the accessibility level and age range they aim for. Numberblocks skews towards teaching young children to count through repetition and lively musical numbers. For more modern audiences, children’s science TV is geared more towards education than simple entertainment.

General STEAM

Kids’ science TV has always focused on inspiring curiosity about the world in children. As such, the most common theme within science TV is general STEAM, where a show covers a wide variety of the sciences alongside arts and culture.

Nina and the Neurons aired from 2007 to 2015 on CBeebies, now available on Apple TV, and followed an adult neuroscientist named Nina and her five computer-generated ‘neurons’ that represent our five senses. With the help of the relevant neurons, Nina answers scientific questions posed to her by children. Nina and the Neurons is the overall umbrella show, with multiple series that branch off. Each series has a theme, such as ‘Brilliant Bodies’ covering questions about the human body, and ‘Go Inventing’ which handles engineering and technological concepts.

A more comparable, modern version of Nina and the Neurons is Emily’s Wonder Lab. The show premiered in 2020 on Netflix and follows Emily, a science educator who conducts fun experiments and activities with children. Though it was cancelled after just one season, Emily’s Wonder Lab is a good example of the direction that children’s TV is veering towards; the onset of streaming and the letting go of traditional broadcasting channels.

Other general STEAM kids’ TV channels include the classic Little Einsteins and more modern shows like Ada Twist, Scientist. Both cover various subjects, often blending science and engineering with the arts and world cultures. One positive of these general STEAM shows is the diversity they display, both in the various characters, cultures, and concepts they cover. This inclusivity is vital, as children of all backgrounds watch these shows, and seeing themselves on the screen allows them to see that they can be anything they want to, including scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.

Conclusion

Historically, children’s TV in Ireland was shown on broadcasting channels like RTÉ Jr (where RTÉ is Ireland’s state broadcasting service) or the Tiny Pop/Pop/Pop Girl trifecta, among many others. Watching times for children was regulated by a viewing style Forbes calls ‘appointment viewing’^[1]. The introduction and subsequent boom of streaming platforms like Netflix and creator-led platforms like YouTube have shifted children’s TV from broadcast to streaming.

The decline of cable TV and the rise of on-demand services like Netflix or Max follows a larger trend in the modern age of TV viewing. This could be due to the ease and convenience of streaming. No longer are people confined to the whims of broadcasting channels. Now we pick and choose our own entertainment, and this extends to children’s shows. For many, the only reason to tune into cable TV is to catch up with sports channels that haven’t yet migrated over due to long-running contracts made with broadcasting companies.

Who knows where we could be in the future? Perhaps what we know as TV will die away, leaving only streaming services to provide our entertainment. If you look around, there is a plethora to choose from and the choice is only widening as more companies seek the success of sites like Netflix. Perhaps a children-specific streaming service may come in the next few years. While more choices may seem like a positive, I worry that we will end up back where we were. With so many paid sites to choose from and all the content in the digital space split across them, it may as well be like cable TV all over again.

For now, the evolution of children’s science shows from broadcasting to streaming, from dated computer-generated art to more polished, colourful animations, is fascinating.

[1] Fatemi F. (2022) ‘How TV Viewing Habits Have Changed’. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2022/11/14/how-tv-viewing-habits-have-changed/