Sid the Science Kid

Sid the Science Kid
Sid the Science Kid Title Card
Also known as	Jim Henson's Sid the Science Kid
Genre	Children's television series Education
Created by	The Jim Henson Company
Voices of	Drew Massey Julianne Buescher Victor Yerrid Alice Dinnean Donna Kimball Kristin Charney
Opening theme	Sid the Science Kid
Ending theme	Sid the Science Kid (instrumental)
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	69
Production
Executive producer(s)	Brian Henson Lisa Henson Halle Stanford Bradley Zweig
Producer(s)	Chris Plourde
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	September 1, 2008 (2008-09-01) – Present
Chronology
Followed by	Dinosaur Train
External links
Website
Production website

Sid the Science Kid is a half-hour PBS Kids series that debuted on September 1, 2008. The computer generated show is produced by The Jim Henson Company and then-PBS member KCET in Los Angeles, California using the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio. The show is produced by motion capture which allows puppeteers to voice digitally animated characters in real time. Production began in the fall of 2008 with 42 half-hour episodes of Sid the Science Kid having been ordered. The series debuted on PBS Kids on September 1, 2008, with a two-year on-air commitment. The original working title for the series was "What's the Big Idea?" and the central character, Sid, was originally named Josh.

KOCE, the current primary PBS member for the Los Angeles area, began co-producing the show after KCET disaffiliated with PBS on December 31, 2010.

Premise

The main character in the show is Sid, an "inquisitive youngster" who uses comedy to tackle questions kids have about basic scientific principles and why things work the way they do. He tries to answer questions and solve problems with the help of his classmates (May, Gerald, and Gabriela), Teacher Susie, and his family (his mother Alice, his father Mort, his Grandma and his baby brother Zeke). In "Hello Doggie", Sid's Grandma adopts a dog from the animal shelter (which she names Philbert - voiced by Tara Charednoff,^{[citation needed]} motion captured by Misty Rosas).

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.

Each week's episodes are built around a single scientific theme or concept. The first week (episodes 1 - 5) focus on scientific tools and concepts (such as charts, observation, estimation, and measuring). The second week (episodes 6 - 10) focuses on changes and transformation (including decay, growth, freezing and melting, and the effects of heat). The third week (episodes 11 - 15) focuses on the senses (including touch, smell, sight, and hearing). The fourth week (episodes 16 - 20) focuses on health. The fifth week (episodes 21 - 25) focuses on simple machine. The sixth week (episodes 26 - 30) focuses on backyard science. The seventh week (episodes 31 - 35) focuses on the human body. The eighth week (episodes 36 - 40) focuses on weather. 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, the Groaning Wall from Square One TV, and "locker jokes" from You Can't Do That on Television, but for a pre-school audience and Sid would end the segment by saying, "Now that's funny!" along with a pre-recorded laughter from his toy microphone. Other recurring segments include "What's the big idea?", a problem that Sid has with anything that has to do something with the problem; Breakfast Time, when either Alice or Mort teaches Sid something that has anything to do with the problem; The Sid Survey, the segment where Sid asks questions to May, Gerald, and Gabriela; Rug Time, where Sid shows his friends and his teacher something with the problem; The Super Fab Lab, where the scientists do the lab along with live-action class; Playtime;Singing with Susie;Backseat Driving with Grandma; Scientist in the House!, when Sid solves the problem and/or plays with his family; and "Sid's Super-Duper-Ooper-Schmooper Big Idea!", where Sid would think about what will he do to solve a problem like the one he had from each episode. Sometimes, Sid would have his play date with Gabriela or May after school making it "2 Scientists in the House!".

Characters

Sid (motion captured by Misty Rosas, voiced by Drew Massey) is about 4 years old (then he turned 5 in the episode "I Want Cake") and wants to be a scientist when he grows up. Sid is the most practical character on the show and is often portrayed as a very supportive friend. His special item is a toy microphone with four different colored electric buttons. When pressed, the blue button plays the recorded laughter of people, the yellow button plays the recorded applause, the red button's purpose is unknown, but the white button records echoes. He wants to know "everything about everything". He enjoys singing and dancing as well. He is a well-noted observer, and possibly the brightest of the group. His daily activities consist of playing in his room, coming up with a question-asking people about his question, studying his question in school, going home, and presenting his 'Super-duper-ooper-schmooper Big Idea!' Sid's mother is of African descent and his father grew up Jewish as noted in the Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa episode.

May (motion captured by Dana Michael Woods, voiced by Julianne Buescher) is Sid's glasses-clad Chinese friend, marked by her striped stockings and fairness. May is 4 years old and the most sentimental character of the group. She is very polite and is characterized by her charming, courteous ways. May often sympathizes with everyone and everything, appreciating even inanimate things like decayed pumpkins and brown, mushy bananas. In the eponymous episode as Sid asks whether she would ever eat a mushy banana, she replies, "Aw, he probably thinks no one likes him. Yes! Yes, I would definitely eat him and be his friend!" In The Perfect Pancake when Sid recalls his father's burnt pancakes, she suggests that the oven might be angry. May has a Manx cat called Mooshu. While her conduct is quite silly at times, May is exceptionally smart, often performing at peak excellence in school.

Gerald (motion captured by Alon Williams, voiced by Victor Yerrid) is Sid's airhead, vivacious good friend. He is 4 years old and distinguished by an unusual tuft of hair on his head and remarkably reddened skin. He often stalls at the start of Rug Time, attempting a very appreciated light-humored gig. He has a dog, a Jack Russell terrier called Chester. He is a very valued character of the quartet, perhaps the most vivid character of the group, often being the life and soul of activities. A running gag is that he is always trying to be funny, but fails miserably.

Gabriela Cordova (motion captured by John Munro Cameron, voiced by Alice Dinnean) is also 4 years old, and the most composed character of the group. Unlike her friends, Gabriela is the most sensible character and often comes up with the most reasonable jokes during Good Laughternoon. She is the most authoritative figure of the quartet, often being the leader of the group activities. She is usually the one to propose playing Pretend, always opting to be the mommy. She is believed to have climbed higher on the jungle gym than anyone else of the group, and can allegedly read. Sometimes she comes over to Sid's house to have a play date with him. She has an older brother named Mateo.

Susie (motion captured by Sonya Leslie, voiced by Donna Kimball) is the teacher at Sid's school. She begins the day with "Rug Time," where she summons the children to sit in a circle and asks them if they have anything to share with the class or talk about (usually the topic brought up is what was discussed during "Sid's Survey" and what Sid was thinking about earlier in the day). She conducts the experiments with her class. She sings to the children during the "Singing With Susie" segment at the end of the school day. It is widely thought that her accent is a poor imitation of a Latina-American accent, sounding more at times like a Canadian accent and something else.

Mort (motion captured by John Munro Cameron, voiced by Victor Yerrid) is Sid's dad.

Alice (motion captured by Sonya Leslie, voiced by Alice Dinnean-Vernon) is Sid's mom who drives him to school each day. Alice is a web site designer and children's computer game developer (Episode 58 "The Amazing Computer Science Tool!).

Grandma (motion captured by Dana Michael Woods, voiced by Julianne Buescher and Donna Kimball) is Sid's grandma, she likes to tell Sid stories about herself when she was younger while driving home from school.

Dr. Rosalinda Cordova (motion captured by Michelan Sisti, voiced by America Ferrera) is a research scientist at the Science Center that the children often visit, and the mother of Gabriela. She helps to explain the various exhibits at the center and how they relate to the school lessons the children are having. On occasion, she will visit the children in their schoolroom and teach alongside Teacher Susie. She is very proud of her daughter Gabriela.

Zeke (motion captured by Alon Williams, voiced by Donna Kimball) is Sid's baby brother, he's 10 months old.

Episodes (subject)

Tools and Measurements

1. The Sticker Chart (charts)

2. The Rolie Polie (observation/magnification)

3. Enough with the Seashells! (estimation)

4. The Whale Episode (nonstandard measurement)

5. Super Science Tools!

Changes and Transformations

6. My Mushy Banana (decay)

7. My Shrinking Shoes (growth)

8. My Ice Pops (reversible transformation/Ice)

9. The Perfect Pancake (irreversible transformation/Heat)

10. No More Changes!

Senses

11. The Itchy Tag (texture/touch/feel)

12. What's That Smell? (smelling)

13. Grandma's Glasses (sight/vision)

14. Too Much Noise! (hearing)

15. All My Senses

Health

16. A Brush With Teeth (dental hygiene)

17. I Want Cake (healthy food groups)

18. The Big Sneeze (germs)

19. Must See TV (exercise/fitness)

20. Sid's Health Day

Simple Machines

21. The Broken Wheel (wheels)

22. My Slide (inclined planes)

23. Sid's Amazing Invention (levers)

24. The Tree House (pulleys)

25. Climb, Ignatz, Climb!

Backyard Science

26. Hello, Doggie! (animal communication)

27. Home Tweet Home (animal homes)

28. The Dirt on Dirt (dirt/soil/mud)

29. Don't Forget the Leaves! (leaves)

30. The Bug Club

Weather

36. Sid's Rainy Play Date (rain/thunder/lighting)

37. Special Sunny Dad Day (sun/hot)

38. Sid's Holiday Adventure (snow/cold/ice)

39. The Wind Did It (wind)

40. Sid the Weatherman

The Body

31. Special Mom Day Meal (stomachs)

32. I Have Muscles Where? (muscles)

33. Sid's Amazing Lungs (lungs)

34. How Did My Dog Do That? (bones/skeletons)

35. Now That's Using Your Brain (brains)

Force and Motion

43. Slide to the Side (friction)

44. That's the Way the Ball Bounces (elasticity)

45. Ignatz's Inertia (inertia)

46. Sid's Super Kick (force)

Environmental Systems

51. Where Did The Water Go (water)

52. Clean Air (Air/Trees)

53. Reused Robot (Recycling/Trash)

54. Save the Stump (Habitats)

Light and Shadow

47. Let There Be Light (light)

48. Discovering Darkness (dark)

49. Shadow Smile (shadows)

50. A Rainbow Every Day! (rainbows)

Technology and Engineering

58. The Amazing Computer Science Tool! (computers)

59. The Big Cheese! (research)

60. Sid Wings It! (Wings)

61. Sid Engineers a Solution (engineering)

Living Things

64. Sids pet project (pets/responsibility)

65. Sleep Who needs it (sleep)

66. Seed the science kid (seeds/life cycles)

67. the reason sids sneezin (allergies)

Specials

41. Getting A Shot: You Can Do It! (vaccination)

42. No School Sing-Along Special

55. Sid's Backyard Campout

56. Halloween Spooky Science Special (Halloween: Spiders/Bats/Skeletons/Cats)

57. I Want to Be a Scientist! (Wildlife biologist/Robotics engineer/Chemist/Astronaut)

62. Get Up and Move!

63. Rock n Roll Easter (Rocks)

Movies

Sid the Science Kid The Movie

Cast

Motion-Capture Performers

The following have performed the motion-capture for the characters:

• Misty Rosas - Sid
• Dana Michael Woods - May, Grandma
• Alon Williams - Gerald, Zeke
• John Munro Cameron - Gabriella, Mort
• Sonya Leslie - Susie, Alice
• Michelan Sisti - Dr. Rosalinda Cordova

Voices

• Drew Massey - Sid, Philbert
• Julianne Buescher - May, Grandma
• Victor Yerrid - Gerald, Mort
• Alice Dinnean - Gabriela, Alice
• Kristin Charney - Dr. Rosalinda Cordova
• Donna Kimball - Zeke, Susie

Crew

• Directors: Brian Henson, Hugh Martin, Katy Garretson, Allan Trautman, David Gumpel
• Head writer: Bradley Zweig
• Writers: Craig Bartlett, Jim Lewis, Corey Powell, Joseph Purdy, Eric Shaw, Bradley Zweig
• Story editors: Craig Bartlett, Joe Purdy
• Character designs: Elanna Allen, Peter Brooke
• Executive Producers: Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Halle Stanford, Bradley Zweig
• Producer: Chris Plourde
• Layouts: Joseph Ansolabehere, Steve Viksten|Steven Viksten

Awards

“Save the Stump!” won in the Children’s Pro­gram­ming cat­e­gory Sat­ur­day at the 26th Gen­e­sis Awards, pre­sented by the Humane Soci­ety of the United States.

References

Television Oregon Public Broadcasting

See Also

• Crayon Shin-chan
• Kobo, the Li'l Rascal
• Bill Nye the Science Guy
• Case Closed

External links

• PBS Kids' Sid the Science Kid website
• PBS Kids' Sid the Science Kid Read and Play App
• PBS Kids' Sid the Science Kid Science Fair App
• HDPS Wiki: Sid the Science Kid
• Sid the Science Kid episode guide
• Sid the Science Kid at the Internet Movie Database
• Sid the Science Kid at the Big Cartoon DataBase