Sid the Science Kid

First aired	September 1, 2008
Last aired
Network	PBS
Seasons	1
No. of episodes	41

From Muppet Wiki

Sid with his parents, brother and grandma.

Sid the Science Kid is a preschool television series produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with KCET Los Angeles. The show features real-time computer-generated puppets, using the Henson Digital Performance System. Production began in the fall of 2007 with 40 half-hour episodes of Sid the Science Kid having been ordered. The series debuted on PBS Kids on September 1, 2008^[1], with a two-year on-air commitment.^[2]

The main character in the show is Sid, an "inquisitive youngster" who uses comedy to tackle questions kids have about basic scientific principals and why things work the way they do. He tries to answer questions and solve problems with the help of his classmates (Gabriela, May and Gerald), his teacher (Susie), his parents (Alice and Mort), his Grandma and even his baby brother (Zeke).

Two DVDs of the show, The Bug Club and Change Happens, were released in August 2009^[3]; while a more DVDs are slated for release in 2009 and 2010.^[4] In August 2009, the first ten episodes of season one were added to The iTunes Store.

Content and structure

The conceptual content of Sid is based in national science learning standards, cognitive learning theory, and on the preschool science curriculum, Preschool Pathways to Science.^[5]

Each week's episodes are built around a single scientific theme or concept, such as scientific tools and concepts, changes and transformation, the senses, and health. The Friday shows are designed to review, reinforce and summarize the central concept of the week.

One recurring segment, "Good Laughternoon", features the kids opening panels in a brightly-colored playground structure and telling jokes. The format and set borrow heavily from the closing "joke wall" of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but for a pre-school audience. Other recurring segment include The Sid Survey, Rug Time, The Super Fab Lab, Susie sings, and Sid's "super-duper-schmoper" big idea. On rare occasions, Sid invites a friend over, mainly Gabriela, to play with him, such as in the episodes The Rolie Polie, My Ice Pops!, A Brush With Teeth, and Home Tweet Home.

History and development

Sid the Science Kid was developed by Halle Stanford and Jim Lewis. The initial concept was to create a show to teach science concepts to pre-school kids. The series went into production in the fall of 2007.

Jim Lewis discussed his role in the creation of Sid the Science Kid in a 2008 interview, stating:

I was the first guy in. I worked with an executive at Henson, someone I've worked with for years, Halle Stanford. They had an idea there for a science program – basically a pre-science, I forget what the exact term was, but it was to teach science concepts to pre-school kids... My involvement in that was I helped developed the show. I basically got it up to the point where it was sold to KCET, which is the public television station in Los Angeles... When they actually wanted to go into production, I realized I'm too old for this, I don't want to be a show runner – it's a lot of work. So I found someone that Halle and I had both worked with, Bradley Zweig, an enormously talented writer whose worked on a variety of things, I'm sure you can look up on imdb. He's very funny and has just the right sensibility and he's a lot younger than me, and more willing to work brutal hours for the 18-months it takes to do that kind of thing. And he ran the show and executive produced it with Brian and Lisa and Halle. And I wrote a few scripts, you know, and I feel part of it's my baby – but they deserve all the credit.^[6]

The original working title for the series was "What's the Big Idea?" and the central character, Sid, was originally named Josh.^[7]

Sid's personality was originally based on executive producer Halle Stanford's son Max.^[8]

The initial conceptual designs for the characters were completed by Elanna Allen, while Creature Shop Creative Supervisor Peter Brooke ensured that the original concepts and designs were translated into the 3D world of the Henson Digital Performance Studio. Brooke sculpted detailed maquettes of the characters to help translate the designs into three dimentions.

Cast

Episodes

Tools and Measurement
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
101	The Sticker Chart	Documentations	September 1, 2008
102	The Rolie Polie	Observation	September 2, 2008
103	Enough With the Seashells!	Estimation	September 3, 2008
104	The Whale Episode	Measurement	September 4, 2008
105	Super Science Tools	Tools and Measurement Review	September 5, 2008
Transformation and Change
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
106	My Mushy Banana	Decay	September 8, 2008
107	My Shrinking Shoes	Growth	September 9, 2008
108	My Ice Pops!	Change Caused by Cold	September 10, 2008
109	The Perfect Pancake!	Change Caused by Heat	September 11, 2008
110	No More Changes!	Transformation and Change Review	September 12, 2008
Senses
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
111	The Itchy Tag	Texture	September 22, 2008
112	What's That Smell?	Smell	September 23, 2008
113	Grandma's Glasses	Sight	September 24, 2008
114	Too Much Noise!	Hearing	September 25, 2008
115	All My Senses	Senses Review	September 26, 2008
Health
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
116	A Brush With Teeth	Dental Hygiene	October 20, 2008
117	I Want Cake	Nutrition	October 21, 2008
118	The Big Sneeze	Germs	October 22, 2008
119	Must See TV	Exercise	October 23, 2008
120	Sid's Health Day	Health Review	October 24, 2008
Simple Machines
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
121	The Broken Wheel	Wheels	February 9, 2009
122	My Slide	Inclined Planes	February 10, 2009
123	Sid's Amazing Invention	Levers	February 11, 2009
124	The Tree House	Pulleys	February 12, 2009
125	Climb, Ignatz, Climb	Simple Machines Review	February 13, 2009
Backyard Science
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
126	Hello Doggie	Animal Communication	February 16, 2009
127	Home Tweet Home	Animal and Insect Habitats	February 17, 2009
128	The Dirt on Dirt	Dirt	February 18, 2009
129	Don't Forget the Leaves	Leaves	February 19, 2009
130	The Bug Club	Backyard Science Review	February 20, 2009
Weather
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
131	Sid's Rainy Play Date	Rain	September 14, 2009
132	Special Sunny Dad Day	Sun	September 15, 2009
133	Sid's Holiday Adventure	Temperature	September 16, 2009
134	The Wind Did It	Wind	September 17, 2009
135	Sid the Weatherman	Weather Review	September 18, 2009
Human Body
#	Episode	Topic	Air date
136	Special Mom Day Meal	Digestion	May 4, 2009
137	I Have Muscles Where?	Muscules	May 5, 2009
138	Sid's Amazing Lungs	Lungs	May 6, 2009
139	How Did My Dog Do That?	Bones	May 7, 2009
140	Now That's Using Your Brain	Human Body Review	May 8, 2009
Specials
#	Title	Topic	Air date
141	Getting A Shot: You Can Do It!	Vaccinations	October 26, 2009

Awards and honors

In 2009, Sid the Science Kid was awarded the Parents' Choice Award and was called "Recommended Television for the spring of 2009" by the organization.

In May 2009, Sid the Science Kid ws nominated at the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in two categories - "Outstanding Children's Animated Program" and "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title & Graphic Design".

The series was nominated by the Television Critics Association for a TCA Award in "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming." The winners will be announced August 1, 2009.

Crew

For full credits, see the Sid the Science Kid credits on the Henson Digital Performance System Wiki.

Executive producers: Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Halle Stanford, Bradley Zweig
Producer: Chris Plourde
Directors: Brian Henson, Hugh Martin, Allan Trautman, Katy Garretson, Dean Gordon, David Gumpel
Head writer: Bradley Zweig
Writers: Bradley Zweig, Jim Lewis, Eric Shaw, Corey Powell, Joe Purdy, Craig Bartlett, Will Shepard, Elise Allen
Story editors: Craig Bartlett, Joe Purdy
Character designs: Ellanna Allen, Peter Brooke

Merchandise

For more coverage, see the Sid the Science Kid merchandise category on the Henson Digital Performance System Wiki.

Albums

Cover	Title	Release Date	Description
	Soundtrack - Volume 1	May 4, 2009	Released as an Amazon.com exclusive, the album features 18 original songs from the first half of the series. The albums was released both on CD and for digital download on May 4, 2009.

Videos

DVDs of the series are being released by the Jim Henson Company and NCircle Entertainment.

Cover

Title

Release Date

Description

The Bug Club

August 4, 2009

"Sid the Science Kid: The Bug Club", features four episodes of the series with a focus on nature and backyard science.

Change Happens

August 4, 2009

"Sid the Science Kid: Change Happens" features four episodes dealing with transformation and changes.