New NOVA Series Explores the World of Engineering
NOVA’s 50th anniversary celebration continues with a new documentary series as part of a multi-platform initiative highlighting the essential role that engineering plays in our world. Discover how engineering is all around us in the three-part special Building Stuff, premiering on Wednesday, November 13, at 9pm on CET/ThinkTV16, the station livestreams and the PBS App.
“Making things to solve problems, what we call engineering, is a fundamental human activity. It’s something we all do – and as a species, have always done. But how does it work?” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt in a press release. “In Building Stuff, we dive into an exciting mix of engineering stories that highlight the problem-solving process that underlies innovation, while revealing the deep historical roots that underpin every aspect of our modern world.”
Building Stuff features some of the most creative and innovative engineers around the world who are working to supercharge our abilities, reaching beyond our horizons and altering our environment for the better. Through three, hour-long episodes, viewers experience the ups and downs with them as they design, build, and iterate their way through challenges, inspiring the inner “maker” in all of us.
The documentary series is just one part of the multi platform initiative and follows the launch of NOVA’s first-ever Twitch channel for the series, Building Stuff with NOVA, which streamed June 3 through November 1. Hosted by professional engineer and former NASA researcher Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, the channel allowed audiences to engage in STEM learning through live-streams. Featured content included gameplay, interactive expert interviews, and virtual field trips — culminating an engineering-themed, in-person escape room, designed and built in collaboration with the audience and the escape room design team, Trapology.
”As part of NOVA’s 50th anniversary year, we’re thrilled to showcase the power of engineering and celebrate the human ingenuity that exists all around us,” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Julia Cort in a press release. “And we’re excited to continue bringing NOVA to new audiences on more platforms, including Twitch, where people can engage directly with the NOVA team and experts to solve engineering challenges together in a new and unique way.”
Check out the Twitch Channel @NOVABuildingStuff to view previous live streams and other content: https://www.twitch.tv/novabuildingstuff.
Learn more below about the upcoming air dates and episode details for the documentary series, Building Stuff:
Boost It! – Wednesday, November 13, at 9pm on CET
Around the world, engineers are finding ingenious ways to amplify our abilities and senses – allowing us to access and shape the world way beyond our natural abilities. From helping a blind man see without the use of his eyes to building a sling so powerful it can propel rockets into space, see why engineering just might be the closest thing to a superpower we humans have.
Reach It! – Wednesday, November 20, at 9pm on CET
From the time our species first evolved, we’ve been on the move. Not content to stay in one place, we’ve schemed and invented and built our way from one place to the next. From affordable deep sea subs to flying taxis to next-gen space habitats, see how today’s engineers are designing and building creative new ways for us to get all around — and even off — our planet.
Change It!” – Wednesday, November 27, at 9pm on CET
For as long as humans have been around, we’ve been altering the spaces around us to better suit our needs. From accessing ancient wisdom to build a better water filter to designing a robot that uses acoustics to monitor coral reef health, see how today’s engineers are applying their craft to reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments to enhance our lives in amazing ways.
Watch a preview for the first episode and learn more about the series: https://www.cetconnect.org/nova-building-stuff/.
