NHK/NHK Educational Corporation, and Al Jazeera Children's Channel have announced the co-production of the ultimate science entertainment series, which will show the rules of nature through spectacular experiments. “Discover Science” will give viewers a unique chance to understand science by showing it in action on a massive scale.
Production is being led by NHK Educational Corporation (NED), an NHK affiliate that produces a vast number of programs for NHK’s educational channel. NED is well known for children’s programs but also produces a wide range of programs for adults. NED’s expertise in creative visualization will be paired with NHK’s latest shooting techniques to yield fascinating ways to visualize scientific phenomena. The production team has made it a rule not to use CGI or talking heads. The visual focus is the experiments, which will be easy for viewers to understand and presented in an entertaining way on a massive scale.
NED and Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) have enjoyed a fruitful relationship through exchanges of children’s programs since JCC was launched in 2005. The joint development of “Discover Science” is a response to dwindling interest in science among children in Japan and to JCC’s shared need for good science programming for children. The series is intended mainly to rekindle children’s curiosity about science, but it will be enjoyable for a wider audience including people who are already science lovers.
“Discover Science” is the first series to be co-produced by NHK, NED, and JCC.
NHK’s Executive Managing Director, Hidemi Hyuga, said: “We respect JCC’s commitment to offering high-quality programs to the Arab world. As a public broadcaster with a designated educational channel, NHK shares JCC’s goal of enlightening children’s minds through television. I believe ‘Discover Science’ is a wonderful way to achieve that goal, and I hope it will reach other territories as well.” NHK Educational Corporation’s CEO, Kenichi Murakami, also expressed his enthusiasm: “I’m thrilled that our relationship with JCC has led to this wonderful project. This is the first major international co-production for NED, and we’re delighted to be able to contribute our expertise.”
Mahmoud Bouneb, the Executive General Manager of Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), stated: “Completing a co-produced scientific program of this scale was not a simple task, and in order to provide children with credible scientific material that is delivered in an impressive and entertaining manner, we chose to co- produce the program with a company that has extensive experience.” Bouneb added, “Discover Science, which JCC will begin to air in September, is a step in the path to enhancing our production capabilities and diversifying our sources of income and programs making.” Bouneb continued by expressing his appreciation and gratitude for the continuous and fruitful cooperation between JCC and its Japanese partner.
The “Discover Science” series is being produced as 26 editions of 14 minutes each. The completion target is the fall of this year.
