Sci-sational Emmy-Winning "SciGirls" Soars into Season 3 Next Week on PBS KIDS!

Not only is spring and the warmer weather finally here, but my girls and nieces are so excited for the new season of the Emmy Award-winning SciGirls TV series is debuting this April on PBS KIDS! My girls were first turned on to this show last season when my nieces came to visit and asked to watch this show on PBS Kids.  My girls have their own lineup of shows they love watching on PBS Kids, but had no idea about this show, which featured a group of girls who learned and explored.  

After sitting down with my girls and nieces to watch the show, I fell in love with the show and can now see why it is an Emmy-winning show.  I was so excited to see a show made with young girls in mind, to get them excited about science, math, computers and more.  Even though my girls are little, I am trying my hardest to introduce at them at a young age to things, so that when they get older, they will be excited to learn about science and math.  It is hard to get girls excited about these subjects in school, or even have them pursue jobs in these fields.  But, thanks to shows like SciGirls, girls of all ages are reminded that they can do anything, and that math and science, for instance, can be fun.  

Not familiar with SciGirls?  Here is more about this award winning show, including news about new mobile games for fans of the show to play as they wait for season 3 to begin next week.

The eagerly-anticipated third season is all about citizen science and features six new episodes starring real girls who are seriously into science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM! Along with their mentors, they are on a mission to inspire and empower girls everywhere to take up the charge and become the next generation of female scientists and engineers.

The new episodes will air weekly on PBS KIDS (check local listings), and will also be available online nationwide starting April 15 at http://pbskids.org/scigirls/.  Each half-hour show follows the SciGirls as they embark on sci-sational adventures from coast-to-coast, making incredible discoveries and performing unique experiments – all in the name of the latest STEM frontier, citizen science! And as the SciGirls go from tracking toads to observing butterflies, counting clouds to learning about urban ornithology and more, viewers at home can tag along on each of their incredible science-based expeditions and learn more about how they can make a difference, too! 

Citizen science is the hottest new STEM frontier that engages the general public –and kids! – in real science. Scientists worldwide invite ordinary people—like the SciGirls—to observe and record data about everything from birds to beaches, monarch butterflies to maple trees. The data is then shared with scientists, who use it to generate new scientific knowledge.

In six exciting new episodes, middle school girls and their female STEM professional mentors hit the great outdoors, cataloging frog calls, tracking the changing seasons, verifying satellite imagery of clouds, monitoring fragile butterfly populations, improving urban bird habitats, and advocating for healthy oceans. In addition, animated characters Izzie and Jake are back and finding themselves in sticky situations that can only be solved by STEM—and the SciGirls. When the SciGirls share their data with professional scientists, they save the day for Izzie and Jake and help save the environment! 

And since all citizen scientists are on-the-go, the series that snagged a “New Approaches” Daytime Emmy Award is unleashing mobile-friendly web upgrades on http://pbskids.org/scigirls that let kids play new games, watch episodes and videos, and connect with fellow STEM explorers anywhere, anytime.  

Complete with two new games and interactive videos, the site enables fans to connect with fellow STEM explorers and further supports the SciGirls mission, which is nothing short of changing how millions of girls think about science, technology, engineering and math – helping to turn sci-viewers into sci-doers! 

The SciGirls creative team is headed by Twin Cities Public Television’s Director of Science Content Richard Hudson, Executive Producer of the long-running PBS children’s science series Newton's Apple and creator of DragonflyTV and the SciGirls initiative. Animation is created by Soup2Nuts, producers of PBS’ WordGirl.

Gaming and mobile website is developed by Curious Media. SciGirls is made possible by a major grant from the National Science Foundation. Additional funding is provided by INFOR, Northrop Grumman Foundation, and PPG Industries Foundation."

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My girls have been watching past season episodes online, and can't wait for next week for the new season to begin.  As a parent to young girls and one who has seen this show, I highly recommend to families with tweens/teens, or even girls a little younger, to sit down and watch together and talk about the show, before heading outdoors to explore and learn.

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ABOUT TWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION (TPT)The mission of TPT is to “enrich lives and strengthen our community through the power of media.” As one of the nation’s leading public media organizations, TPT uses television, interactive media and community engagement to advance education, culture and citizenship. Over its 50 plus year history, TPT has been recognized for its innovation and creativity with numerous awards, including Peabody awards and national and regional Emmys.

Based in St. Paul, MN, TPT is one of the highest rated PBS affiliates in the nation, reaching over 1.3 million people each month through multiple broadcast and online channels. The organization's particular areas of focus include: the educational readiness of children; serving the needs and unleashing the potential of America's aging population; engaging a new generation in the power of public media; and being the preferred media partner for organizations that align with our mission to enrich lives and strengthen community. For more information, visit TPT online, follow TPT on Facebook and Twitter

Watch SciGirls on pbskids.org, follow SciGirls on Facebook and @SciGirls on Twitter.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports education and research across all fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  In addition to providing major support for SciGirls, the NSF supports other science and math programs on PBS and pbskids.org, including DragonflyTV, Peg + Cat, Design Squad Nation and Plum Landing.  Visit here for more information on NSF activities.