Jul 12 2013
CERN1 and EUROVISION2 are awarding grants to two production companies to develop multiplatform media proposals to spark the scientific curiosity of “tweens” – children aged eight to twelve.
“Children are the most remarkable example of curiosity,” said Sergio Bertolucci, CERN’s Director of Research and Computing. “We should not limit this curiosity, but develop it”.
"The best children's programmes educate and inform without the viewer even being aware,” says Annika Nyberg-Frankenhaeuser, EUROVISION Media director. “These science-themed series should not only entertain children, but inspire a new generation of scientists and inventors.”
This initiative, co-sponsored by CERN and EUROVISION, launched last November with a call for ideas for multiplatform programmes to fascinate tweens with fundamental physics. The call attracted 23 entries from 12 countries in Europe and beyond.
A panel of CERN scientists and EBU Community Members3 evaluated the proposals for their innovative, fresh approach to fundamental physics, stimulating the natural curiosity of children in an entertaining and creative way. Ideas needed to engage tweens in science beyond the television experience and appeal to different countries and cultures. Two projects were selected for further development:
“Cubic, Quark & Big-G”, proposed by Baby Cow Animation & Bigfatstudio, is an animation series where robot heroes explore fundamental physics in a fun and formative way. Through cartoon slapstick and perilous gags, the characters make specific discoveries about topics, including the mystery of gravity, space-time, string theory and the Higgs boson.
“Just for Quarks”, from production company Screen Glue, is a series of short films to target the YouTube generation featuring three teenage pranksters who share a super power – the ability to alter fundamental laws of physics.
Both projects will be presented at the EUROVISION Science & Knowledge pitching session, taking place in Berlin during the week of 9 September alongside the EUROVISION Creative Forum.
Footnote(s)
1. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its member states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Romania is a candidate for accession. Israel and Serbia are associate members in the pre-stage to membership. India, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have observer status.
2. EUROVISION is operated by EBU – the European Broadcasting Union – the world’s foremost alliance of public service media organizations, with members in 56 countries in Europe and beyond. EUROVISION is the industry’s premier distributor and producer of top quality content including educational and factual as well as entertainment, live sport and news and music content. www.eurovision.com > Content > TV
3. European Broadcasting Union community members evaluating the proposals were: ZDF/ARTE (France/Germany); RTBF (French-speaking Belgium); WDR (Germany); NRK (Norway), SVT (Sweden), RAI World (Italy).