Contact: April Vara
Discovery Networks International
(301) 771-4518
April_Vara@discovery.com
to see if they have what it takes to be an astronaut —
Discovery Kids posed the challenge and recruited kids from around the world to take the test. Are these the astronauts of the future? Discovery Kids finds out in a one-hour special to air on December 10 worldwide. In its first global initiative, Discovery Kids brings kids from Asia, India, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States to Space Camp© in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, for an intense week-long competition. Complementing Discovery Channel’s “Watch With the World” program INSIDE SPACE STATION, also airing on December 10 in prime time, Discovery Kids offers a unique look at the physical and mental tests that astronauts training for journeys to outer space endure. BLAST OFF! with Discovery Kids in a special COUNTDOWN TO BLAST OFF! programming event, premiering December 10 (please see attched for dates and times).
What does it feel like to fight G-forces, master weightlessness and maneuver a spacewalk? Twelve kids and two kid hosts find out as they face off in a series of grueling tasks and competitions, getting firsthand experience of the rigorous astronaut training program at Space Camp©. Two multi-national teams will compete while they get guidance from expert coaches – the Space Camp© counselors. In order to be deemed “mission ready,” the kids will encounter state-of-the-art simulators, emergency splashdowns and lightning round quizzes testing the kids’ space smarts.
BLAST OFF! is produced for Discovery Kids by Luis Antonia Silveira for Giros. The supervising producer for Discovery Kids is Kathy Martin. Marjorie Kaplan is the executive in
charge of production. Executive prodcuers for Discovery Kids Latin America are Beth Carmona
and Rafael Rodriguez. Discovery Kids also participates in UNICEF’s International Children’s
Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) on December 10 with the BLAST OFF! premiere. ICDB is a global day when braodcasters around the world “Tune into Kids” by airing quality programming for and about children. For more information, UNICEF’s website is www.unicef.org/icdb.
Action-packed with unforgettable characters and real life young heroes, Discovery Kids gives kids what they long for – thrilling adventures linked to the world around them. An interactive and unconventional network, Discovery Kids offers children of all ages a fun, entertaining way to satisfy their natural curiosity with stimulating, imaginative programming that awakens the power of the mind. Discovery Kids takes on the big questions of How and Why.
As the world’s leading real-world media and entertainment company, Discovery Communications, Inc.’s (DCI) combined networks reach subscriber households in 150 countries worldwide. Discovery Networks, International (DNI), a division of DCI, includes Discovery Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Health, Discovery Home & Leisure, Animal Planet, People+Arts, Discovery Sci-Trek, Discovery Travel & Adventure, Discovery Civilisation and Discovery Wings. Available over 58 separate feeds in 32 languages via 15 satellites, DNI’s services are tailored to the specific needs of viewers around the globe.
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