Nina and the Neurons
| Nina and the Neurons | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's, Educational |
| Presented by | Katrina Bryan (as "Nina") |
| Country of origin | UK |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 175 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBeebies |
| Original release | 26 February 2007 - present |
Nina and the Neurons is a programme shown on the CBeebies channel aimed at four to six-year-olds to help them understand basic science. Nina is a neuroscientist who enlists the help of five Neurons (animated characters representing the senses) in her brain to answer a scientific question.
The show is produced by Lucille McLaughlin, who has also produced the children's programme Balamory. The series is commissioned by CBeebies Controller, Michael Carrington.
The beginning of the programme is based at Glasgow Science Centre where Nina conducts experiments in front of an audience of children. At the end of the lecture, Nina is 'contacted' by a child, who appears on a television screen asking a science-related question. Nina then chooses one or more of five Neurons based upon which of the senses is most appropriate to answer the question. Nina then visits the child and with the help of their friends and family (called the 'experimenters') uses simple and fun experiments to answer the child's question. At the end of each show, the Neurons discuss what they have done and the individual role they have played.
The main character of Nina is played by Scottish actress Katrina Bryan. Nina wears either a white lab coat with brightly coloured cuffs and lapels in her lab, or one of a bright yellow coat or blue jacket when outside. In the programme, Nina drives either a pale blue 1970s Volkswagen Type 2 (Transporter) minibus or a New MINI, both bearing numberplates reading 'NINA', or rides a bicycle in the Go ECO! version.
The Neurons are computer animated characters (stylised with human facial features and body, but no legs) and are named to reflect the five senses which they represent:
Felix, voiced by James Dreyfus in the first series but subsequently by Lewis MacLeod represents touch. He is green and speaks in a posh accent and is particular about his appearance.
...
Wikipedia