Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Review: Blast Off to Planet Zula

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Science has never been one of my favorite subjects. In fact, I sometimes can't even answer Girlie Girl's questions. I know the basic ideas but I'm not great at explaining how things work.

That's why I was thrilled when The Parent Bloggers Network gave me the opportunity to preview a new soon-to-be released show called The Zula Patrol which is targeted towards pre-kindergarteners to third graders.

The Zula Patrol is about a group of animated aliens who travel through space to solve science-based problems as well as develop character-building lessons in a way that's fun and interesting. Their comical voices and colorful scenery help to keep kids tuned in. In fact, even my 20 month old was fascinated with it.

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In the first episode, we learn about how 3 different types of rocks are made- sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. In the show, these 3 rocks represent a rock group (get it?) who are about to perform a concert. An argument ensues and they split up and go their separate ways. By thinking about the properties of each rock, The Zula Patrol is able to figure out where they went and convince them to perform.

The second episode is about an active volcano named Fielding who does not want to erupt. He's afraid of his neighbors being mad at him if spews lava over everything. Now, living in Hawaii, this was a great episode for Girlie Girl in helping her to understand how volcanoes really work. All she usually sees is the eruption. This gave her an insight into what happens beneath the earth's surface.

In the end, we found The Zula Patrol to be fun and educational especially since there really isn't many science based kids shows out there. However, it is not scheduled to air in all states. If you're interested in having your local PBS station consider this as part of their their fall line-up, give them a call. I know I will.

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