Start looking for Skipper!

July 14, 2009

TVO Kids viewers can now help Melvin and Jay, characters from the TV show Gisèle's Big Backyard, hunt for their lost friend, Skipper – a Silver-Spotted Skipper caterpillar.

The “Where is Skipper?” segment, developed by TVO Kids in partnership with Wings of Discovery®, airs from July 14 to September 8 and introduces young children to the excitement and exploration of nature and science.

During the episodes, Jay discovers that Melvin doesn’t know what type of animal Skipper is — only that she was a really fun friend. Through Melvin’s memory flashbacks, Jay and TVO Kids' home viewers are able to learn more and more about Melvin’s missing friend. The story evolves over each episode and children at home get to help Melvin and Jay solve the mystery by doing various crafts and simple outdoor activities, just like those found on the Wings of Discovery website.

By answering simple online quizzes each week on the Where is Skipper website, viewers can contribute clues to help Melvin and Jay find Skipper. TVO Kids encourages viewers to send art work and activities they want to share about their own science and nature explorations by mail or e-mail throughout the summer. Later in the fall, some of the art work and discoveries kids have sent in will be celebrated. 

Kids can also enter a contest for a chance to win an overnight stay at a hotel in Niagara Falls for a family of four, as well as passes to the Butterfly Conservatory.

TVO Kids and Let's Talk Science encourages parents to work with their children over the summer to enhance this unique learning experience by using a parent guide, available online and accompanying each episode, to discover other activities related to science and nature they can do with their children.

For more information about the show, visit TVO Kids. For more fun, hands-on activities, visit the Science Starters and Digging Deeper sections of this website.