FINDING STUFF OUT ANSWERS KIDS’ BIG QUESTIONS 
Find out about solar power, magic and why we need to eat in Season 2
– Interactive TVO program unveils new mobile app and digital games –

Montreal, QC (April 15) – Do plants think? Why can’t everything be solar powered? Apartment 11 Productions’ Finding Stuff Out is returning to TVO this spring to answer some of Canadian kids’ biggest questions. Season 2 offers a scientific adventure that children and their parents can enjoy together.
Finding Stuff Out’s new season will take Harrison and his viewers into the mobile space on Android and iOS platforms. A companion app will take some of the activities from the traditional website straight to the viewer’s favourite device. Part science reference tutor and part interactive experiment, FSO’s mobile app will engage viewers with science facts and entertainment wherever they go.

Users will also enjoy a streamlined mobile version of some of Harrison’s experiments. Kids will piece together machines and apparatuses on their mobile device and then finally set them in motion.

The free app will be available for download by mid-May on tvokids.com via Google Play or the App Store.

For Season 2, a new location will be added to the show’s website at www.tvokids.com/games/findingstuffout: Harrison’s garage. Harrison needs your help with conducting experiments and hunting for answers about things like the sun, plants, recycling, teeth, structures and more! Upon completion of an experiment, users will earn a badge to display in the attic. Six experiments will be released for Harrison’s garage throughout the season and these mini-games will also be available on the FSO app. The first two games will be released during the season’s first two episodes, « Teeth » airing April 15 during TVOKids Teeth Week and « Garbage and Recycling » airing April 22 for Earth Day.

Apartment 11 co-produced the games and app with Smiley Guy Studios.

The world around us is full of riddles, but only Harrison has the energy and smarts to get to the bottom of things. In this series developed and co-produced by TVO, Harrison will chase down the answers, and recruit fellow kids to help him in his investigations. Kids at home can even be part of the team. They can take part in real-time experiments or send in questions online. No question is too difficult – or too wacky – for Harrison and company. Finding Stuff Out combines humour, science and intelligence to find out if the truth is out there – and always has a lot of fun on the road to discovery.
« Season 2 is full of many surprises that you do not want to miss, » says teen-host Harrison Houde.

« The Finding Stuff Out series, app, and online games show kids how things work in a fun way, while teaching them about science, » says Patricia Ellingson, TVO’s Creative Head of Children and Parent’s Media. « Finding Stuff Out demonstrates how TVO’s multiplatform programming supports the core areas of the Ontario school curriculum and engages today’s digital-savvy learners. »

Special episodes airing this spring and summer include:

• Monday, April 15, 5:30 pm – « Teeth » for TVOKids Teeth Week

The Big Question: « Why are human teeth and animal teeth different? »
Synopsis: Humans and animals have all different kinds of teeth because they eat all different kinds of things. Harrison finds out lots of new stuff about teeth, including why some are sharp and some are flat, why birds have beaks instead of teeth, and how overworked the poor Tooth Fairy is! Harrison visits his dentist, Dr. Cooperberg, to find out why taking care of his teeth is so important.

• Monday, April 22, 5:30 pm – « Garbage and Recycling » for Earth Day

The Big Question: « What happens to stuff that goes in the trash? »
Synopsis: Garbage is stinky and gross, but Harrison finds out that even smelly garbage can be useful, and that worms make great house pets, and
that tap water may have been in toilets not that long ago! Harrison gives up his old television set so that he can learn how a recycling center separates and uses each of its individual parts.

• Friday, May 10, 5:30 pm – « Babies and Families » for TVOKids Mom Week

The Big Question: « Why do we have families? »
Synopsis: All babies need families for their survival. Harrison investigates why babies drink so much milk and poop so much in their diapers, and why they are so cute. He also finds out why parents are so bossy. Harrison visits the Calgary Zoo to get straight to the poop on why animal babies are different than human babies.

• Friday, June 21, 5:30 pm – « Sun » for the Summer Solstice

The Big Question: « Why can’t everything be solar powered? »
Synopsis: Harrison takes a close look at the biggest star in our solar system – the sun, and learns that everything DOES run (at least indirectly) on solar power. Without the sun, human beings wouldn’t… and couldn’t, be here! Harrison takes a solar-powered boat cruise with its inventor.

• Monday, July 22, 5:30 pm – « Food and Nutrition » for TVOKids Food Day

The Big Question: « Why do we have to eat? »
Synopsis: Harrison learns how good, healthy food helps us grow big and strong and smart, why foods taste different between boys and girls, and which junk foods disguise themselves to pretend that they’re healthy. Yummy?? Bacon-flavoured popcorn is on the menu, washed down with onion soda. Harrison visits a company that makes flavours and creates some weird ones for Harrison to share.

• August Episodes – Additional episodes of Finding Stuff Out will air in August in advance of the school year. Throughout Season 2, Harrison will continue to explore questions posed by his curious viewers. Other big topics include « Why isn’t magic real? » and « What would happen if you never cut your fingernails? » In the season finale, Harrison prepares for his school science fair as he ponders the questions he’s explored throughout the season and concludes that science is all around us.

Where to Find TVO 

On air:
Over-the-air (may vary in some areas)
Cable channel 2 (may vary in some areas)
Bell TV channel 209
TVO HD on Bell Fibe TV channel 1209
Rogers TVO HD channel 580
Shaw Direct channel 353

Websites:
tvo.org
tvokids.com
tvoparents.com
ilc.org

Online:
YouTube ^TM
iTunes ^TM
BlackBerry World ^TM

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