MythBusters veteran Kari Byron is bringing science to students in a new way, with her new subscription-based education platform EXPLR Media, and its upcoming show Everyday Science Stuff.
Calling EXPLR “a dream of mine,” Kari explains, “Kids need to look at shows and entertainment and be inspired to see themselves in it. So we can’t just use traditional hosts. We have to use everybody. So for me, I always had little girls come up to me like, ‘I went into engineering because you made me believe that scientists could wear combat boots!’ Like they just need to see somebody that looks like them.”
As for the notion MythBusters made science cool, Kari laughs, “We didn’t make it cool, science was already cool. We just explained a lot of things with like, explosives. So it made it fun, maybe at least our way.”
Recently, Everyday Science Stuff featured a segment with PureCycle, which uses a revolutionary new way to recycle plastic. The company’s CEO Mike Otworth said that made perfect sense, considering the show’s demographic. “Younger consumers are what’s driving the purchasing of recycled products…they care about keeping plastic out of the oceans and out of our waterways. And so this is where the battle is going to be won…by the younger generation.”
And bringing her new show to younger viewers is certainly easier thanks to Kari’s MythBuster status. “When MythBusters first started, we used to have a hard time having people work with us, they’re like, ‘Wait, what? You need a cow stomach…?!’ But by the end of MythBusters, we could call people and be like, ‘Hey, can I borrow your 747 to flip a bus?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, come on out, we’ll give you a runway!'”
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