The Voyage of the Mimi

The Voyage of the Mimi
Episode 1 opening sequence
Genre	Educational
Created by	Bank Street College of Education
Written by	Richard Hendrick
Directed by	D'Arcy Marsh
Composer(s)	Jeff Lass
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Samuel Y. Gibbon Jr.
Producer(s)	Jeffrey Nelson John Borden
Cinematography	D'Arcy Marsh
Editor(s)	Dick Bartlett
Production company(s)	Peace River Films
Release
Original network	PBS
Original release	1984 – 1984
Chronology
Followed by	The Second Voyage of the Mimi

The Voyage of the Mimi is a thirteen-episode American educational television program depicting the crew of the ship Mimi exploring the ocean and taking a census of humpback whales. The series aired on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and was created by the Bank Street College of Education in 1984 to teach middle-schoolers about science and mathematics in an interesting and interactive way, where every lesson related to real world applications.

The series was also released on VHS and as a LaserDisc collection. In August 2014, the series was released in digital form via iTunes U.

After a segment of a fictional adventure in the first part of each episode, a corresponding "expedition documentary" taught viewers something scientific relating to plot events in the previous episode of the show. For example, there is an episode where the plot is about obtaining drinkable water, and over the course of the episode, the viewer is also given lessons about condensation, heat, and the three states of matter. Each lesson has accompanying student and teacher handouts or worksheets. Four software modules are available that covered topics and skills in navigation and map reading, computer literacy and programming, the elements of ecosystems, and the natural environment of whales.

The Voyage of the Mimi was shot in Marblehead, Massachusetts with some scenes being shot on Dyer Island, Maine. It marked Ben Affleck's television debut role.

A second series was produced in 1988, The Second Voyage of the Mimi, in which the two Granvilles, along with other archaeologists, searched for a lost Mayan city and uncovered a conspiracy along the way. Both series emphasized equal opportunity in math and science with a diverse cast (including race, gender, and disability status) and incorporated an instructional strategy wherein the fictionalized adventure would catch the interest of students for the initial part of the learning process. A third series, which would have been about the Mississippi River, including the river's biology and history, was planned but was not made due to an inability to obtain funding.