Synopses:


















Season 1

01 Colour


The Big Question: “Is snow really white?”

Synopsis: With the help of an animal expert, Harrison finds out how chameleons change colour and viewers find out if they’re lion sighted in a colour blindness test. A physicist explains why there are some colours that we can’t see, and viewers get a bug’s eye view of the world in order to discover how bugs see things that are invisible to humans! Harrison carries out an experiment to see if kids will turn their noses up at a batch of blue scrambled eggs!

My Great Challenge: In this week’s challenge, viewers have to make colours - with other colours!

In the Field: Harrison takes to the skies in an Air Force search and rescue helicopter for a high-flying experiment to find out why some colours attract our eye more than others.



02 Insects


The Big Question: "Are mosquitoes good for anything, or are they just annoying?"

Synopsis: Harrison visits an entomologist who explains to him how insects that eat insects can replace the poison farmers use to keep bad bugs away from their crops. Harrison is joined by a biologist who puts on a fascinating show and tell with all kinds of live bugs. He then puts school kids to the test by asking them to eat everyday products that most of us don't realize contain...you guessed it...bugs! And viewers find out that a lot of household products are made using insects (everything from carpets to lipstick!).

My Great Challenge: Harrison sets up a faceoff between Team Bee and Team Butterfly to see who the best pollinator is!

In the Field
: Our roving correspondent Sidney visits a food scientist and a chef who cook her up a tasty bug stir-fry!     



03 Moon


The Big Question: "Why does the moon follow us?"

Synopsis: Harrison investigates intriguing facts about the moon, like why people think wolves howl at the moon (they don't), whether the moon really turns people into werewolves, who the first men on the moon were and why the moon appears to follow us. Viewers at home test out their jumping skills as Harrison demonstrates where we'd be without gravity!

My Great Challenge: Using nothing more than a light, their wits, and funny headgear, challengers must figure out why the moon is sometimes full and why at times, it disappears!

In the Field
: Harrison goes to...the Moon! Okay, maybe not the actual moon, but a simulated moonscape created by the Space Agency, where astronauts practice their extraterrestrial techniques and test out new equipment.  There, a lunar geologist provides the answers to more kid questions, explaining how the Moon was formed and why there are craters.



04 Language


The Big Question: "Can a horse and a pig communicate?"

Synopsis: Harrison is visited by a very special guest - a parrot - and he tries to figure out if he can understand what it's saying!  Meanwhile, viewers get to test out their ability to communicate with dogs.  Harrison also discovers why humans speak so many different languages.

My Great Challenge: Kids use their hands to pantomime ideas in an effort to communicate like our distant ancestors.

In the Field: Harrison sets off to the Sea Aquarium to see if dolphins can understand sign language.



05 Sleep


The Big Question: "Why do bats sleep upside down?"

Synopsis: Harrison sets off on an investigation of such sleep phenomena as yawning, snoring, and sleepwalking. Along the way he shows kids how to make other people yawn and how to make it seem like they are fast asleep (with fake snoring!). Viewers get to find out what causes nightmares and how to make bad dreams go away.

My Great Challenge:
The challengers must have slept in today....there is no great challenge in this episode.

In the Field: Harrison explores a sleep lab where he is hooked up to an EEG machine that monitors his brainwaves.  



06 Volcanoes & Earthquakes


The Big Question: "What would happen if someone cracked the Earth?"

Synopsis: Harrison gets permission from his school to build a very large volcano and with the help of a real-life volcanologist he creates a grand finale in the form of one of the largest mentos and cola eruptions ever concocted on television! Viewers learn what to do if the earth starts shaking.

My Great Challenge:
Oozing lava must have swallowed up the challengers today.  There is no great challenge in this episode.

In the Field: Roving reporter Sidney visits an exhibition on volcanoes and earthquakes, and gets to make her own mini-earthquake. She meets an adventurer who goes down inside active volcanoes and gets a live demonstration of how his flame-proof suit works when one of his friends sprays him with liquid fire! 



07 Flight


 The Big Question: "Why can't we fly?"

Synopsis: With the aid of a wind-tunnel and a four-time national radio-controlled airplane champ, Harrison takes to the school yard to discover why some things fly better than others and viewers find out what it really takes to leave the ground.

My Great Challenge:
Challengers take part in a paper airplane experiment to see who can make the best wing.

In the Field
: Harrison goes out into the field with a bird trainer to get a close up look at two of the best flyers in the animal world - an owl and a falcon.



08 Weather


The Big Question: "How come weather changes?" 

Synopsis: Harrison is visited by a real-life television weatherman who shows us how he predicts the weather.  Viewers will learn how to gauge wind strength and direction from famous storm chaser George Kourounis as Harrison talks to him live from a location in America's Tornado Alley. 

My Great Challenge: Harrison and the weatherman create an in-studio challenge where kids try their hand at presenting a weather forecast in front of a green screen.

In the Field: Terrible storms must be in the area today...there is no In the Field segment in this episode.



09 Sickness


The Big Question: "How does your nose get runny?"

Synopsis: Harrison is visited by a microbiologist who helps him take a close look at an invisible world and figure out how to stop viruses from hurting us. In the name of science, Harrison performs a top secret experiment at an elementary school to find out how quickly germs can spread. Viewers at home learn how to grow their own fungus.

My Great Challenge: Harrison tests school kids by seeing who among them can get their hands the cleanest.

 In the Field: Roving reporter Sidney puts on a full containment suit and goes to a high-security lab where the most dangerous viruses in the world are studied.  There, she discovers that not all germs are bad, and - surprise - we actually need some of them to survive!



10 Animals Big and Small


The Big Question: "Do dinosaurs eat people?"

Synopsis: Harrison sets out to explore why it is that some animals evolve to be big, while others evolve to be small.  He is visited by a miniature horse and its foal who help him find out why animals are bred to be different sizes. Viewers are encouraged to test their own ability to make themselves seem as big as possible!

My Great Challenge: Challengers take part in a competitive (and tasty!) experiment to find out whether it's an advantage for a predator to eat big or small prey (or to be big or small prey).

In the Field: Harrison takes a trip to the aquarium to visit some of the biggest animals of all - whales!



11 Electricity


The Big Question: "Why does my hair stick to my chair?"  

Synopsis: A physicist visits Harrison to explain how electricity is generated, and teaches us how it can be conserved. Viewers can take part in a fun experiment to see electricity at work in their own bodies. 

My Great Challenge: Kids race to complete a circuit! But before they can do anything they must find a way to transfer power over a short distance, from a battery to a light bulb, by determining what materials conduct electricity.

In the Field: Harrison goes to the Sea Aquarium to visit a marine expert and some willing aquatic life to explore why electric eels don't electrocute themselves and how sharks can detect our presence because of electricity!



12 Tools


Join Harrison this week as he learns how to make prehistoric tools and to paint like a "cave kid".  He will show you how you can make simple machines using nothing more than a sheet of paper and in My Great Challenge, contestants compete to see who can throw a toy monkey the furthest using a catapult. Can Harrison put together a car faster than a robot?  Tune in and find out!



13 Sound


Are dog whistles really silent?  Can an opera singer break a glass with her voice?  Do some fish communicate by farting at each other?  Join Harrison and his guests this week as they find out the answers to these questions and more!



14 Oceans


The Big Question: "Do sea monsters really exist?"

Harrison discovers that although monsters might get the attention, it's the little things that count. Find out more about the tiny creatures called phytoplankton that create half of the oxygen that we breathe.

Go in the field with Harrison as he visits the shark tank of a sea aquarium to find out if it's true that sharks die if they fall asleep.

Did you know that fish drink?  Harrison uses potatoes to show you how!  And who will make plasticine float first, in My Great Challenge?



15 Hair


The Big Question:  "Why do we have hair?" 

Harrison visits a hairstylist and learns about different hairstyles like mohawks and baldness, and he finds out why our hair turns grey and how amazingly strong it is. 

Plus - did you know that people used to have fur on their bodies?  Harrison visits an anthropologist with a cool skull collection who explains why. 

Can you identify different types of animals from close-ups of their fur?  See if you can do better than our challengers in this week's My Great Challenge.



16 Best Of...


The final show of the first season brings together highlights of the previous fifteen episodes.

The most amazing experts, incredible experiments, and entertaining animals - and the funniest bloppers - all come together to help Harrison's first season go out with a big bang!