What if Nikola Tesla had time-traveling assistants who are sent to the future to help inspire the spirit of invention in the children of the 21st century? Absurd? Yes. Exciting? Doubly so! This is the pitch that a trio of Arizona-area makers are using in their Kickstarter campaign to create a web-based children's show of yesteryear. And it looks fantastic!
Dubbed the Blue Bike Kid Show, Boyd Branch, Steve Wilcox and Elizabeth Peterson aim to teach kids about science and technology. The title comes from the device Tesla invents (in the show) that allows him to travel to the future. There, he sees a chilling vision where the youth are no longer engaged in scientific exploration. Tesla's time traveling blue bike is used to hurl his assistants into the future to instruct kids on the ways of fixatology, defabrication, inspiration, designovation and makovation.
"Kids are surrounded by all this technology," says Steve, "but they're not really encouraged to use it as anything other than an instrument of consumption." Their goal is to "inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators."
Producing the show on a limited budget in their home studio, they are applying their maker attitude to the show itself. They're also taking the show on the road to schools, science centers and community events in the Phoenix area.
But getting this show to the web will take more than elbow grease and a positive attitude. They're raising some money through Kickstarter to help make the show possible.
In all, the Blue Bike Kid Show looks fantastic, and its creators look to be having quite a bit of fun doing it. But don't take my word for it: Check out their Kickstarter video below, as well as a teaser for the show after the break.
