Encyclopedia (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Encyclopedia |
|
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joshua White |
| Starring | Ethyl Eichelberger Jim Fyfe Faith Prince Carol Schindler David Sterry |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Patti Kaplan |
| Running time | approx. 30 min |
| Release | |
| Original network | HBO |
| Original release | September 19, 1988 – February 20, 1989 |
Encyclopedia was a fun and educational TV show made by HBO and the Children's Television Workshop (the same people who create Sesame Street!). It first aired in 1988. This series was designed to be like a living encyclopedia, bringing facts and ideas to life for young viewers.
Each episode focused on a letter or a few letters of the alphabet. Through short, funny skits and songs, the show explored many different topics related to those letters. Imagine learning about "atoms" or "boomerangs" with comedy! Some of the writers for Encyclopedia also worked on the famous show Saturday Night Live.
The awesome band BETTY performed the opening and closing songs for the show. They also sang individual songs about some of the topics, making learning even more memorable.
Exploring the Alphabet: Topics Covered
The Encyclopedia TV series covered a huge range of topics, from science to history and everyday life. Each episode was packed with interesting facts and ideas. The show made learning about different subjects exciting and easy to understand.
For example, when they covered the letter "A," you might learn about air, alligators, or even archaeology. The "B" episode could teach you about Bach, bats, or the brain.
The show used creative ways to explain things. Sometimes a topic would be explored through a song, like "atom" or "bones." This helped kids remember the information better. They even covered famous people like Albert Einstein and Cleopatra.
Here are just a few examples of the many cool topics Encyclopedia explored:
- A: air, alchemy, alligator, atom (song), avalanche
- B: Bach, ballet, bat, brain, brontosaurus
- C: camel, carnivore, caveman (song), chain reaction (song)
- D: Darwin, democracy, desert, dream
- E: earthquake, echo (song), Einstein, emotion
- F: fire, fish (song), food chain, Freud (song)
- G: gene (song), geography, germ, gladiator
- H: hair, Hammurabi (song), heart, heat (song)
- I: infinity (song), insect, insomnia, intestine
- J: Jefferson, jellyfish, jester, Jupiter
- K: kangaroo, kilt, knight, knot (song)
- L: ladybug (song), lava, Lincoln, Louis XIV of France
- M: magic, mammal, memory, moon, muscle
- N: Napoleon Bonaparte, navigation, nerve (song), Niagara Falls
- O: ocean, octopus, optical illusion, ozone
- P: paleontology, parachute, Pasteur, phobia (song), pyramid
- Q: quarantine, quark, quasar (song), quicksand
- R: radar, rainbow, robot, rocket (song), roller skate
- S: senses, skeleton, skin, snow, Statue of Liberty
- T: tears, teeth, telephone, trampoline, turtle
- U: UFO, ultraviolet rays, umbrella
- V: valedictorian, Venus flytrap, vertigo (song), veterinarian
- W: walrus, Washington, weather, whale, Wright brothers
- X: X-ray
- Y: yak, yawn, yodeling, yoga
- Z: Zapata (song), ZIP code (song), zipper, zoology
Awards and Recognition
Encyclopedia was recognized for its great work! It won some special awards called Daytime Emmy Awards:
- Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design: This award went to Calista Hendrickson for her amazing work on the costumes.
- Outstanding Achievement in Makeup: Paul Gebbia won this award for the show's creative makeup.
Where to Find It Now
All the episodes of Encyclopedia were released on VHS tapes in the late 1990s. While you can't buy them new in stores anymore, you might still find them online on websites like eBay.
