DragonflyTV
Runtime30 minutes
CreatorDr. Richard Hudson
CompanyTwin Cities Public Television
StarringMichael Brandon Battle (seasons 1–4)
Mariko Nakasone (seasons 1–4)
Eric Artell (seasons 5–7)
MusicAdam Dornblum
Chuck Barth (Telco-syndicated prints)
Larry Brown (Telco-syndicated prints)
Open theme"DragonflyTV" by Adam Dornblum (PBS prints)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
NetworkPBS Kids (2002–2004)
PBS Kids Go! (2004–2008)
Broadcast syndication (2009–present)
First airedJanuary 19, 2002
Last airedDecember 20, 2008
Num episodes72
Num seasons7

DragonflyTV (subtitled GPS: Going Places in Science for seasons 5–6, and Nano for season 7) is an American science education television series produced by Twin Cities Public Television. The show aired on PBS Kids from January 19, 2002, to December 20, 2008. It was aimed at ages 9–12.[1] Seasons 1–4 were co-hosted by Michael Brandon Battle and Mariko Nakasone. Seasons 5–7 were hosted by Eric Artell and were produced in partnership with science museums. DragonflyTV was created in collaboration with Project Dragonfly at Miami University, which founded Dragonfly magazine, the first national magazine to feature children's investigations, experiments, and discoveries. DragonflyTV pioneered a "real kids, real science" approach to children's science television and led to the development of the SciGirls television series.[2] DragonflyTV and SciGirls were funded in part by the National Science Foundation to provide a national forum for children's scientific investigations. Reruns of DragonflyTV aired on select PBS stations until 2019, and later in off-network syndication to allow commercial stations to meet federal E/I mandates.

Episodes

Season 2 (2003)

Teams of DFTV's kid scientists demonstrate different approaches to investigations – experimental, engineering, and observational.

Telco-syndicated series

In 2009, after DragonflyTV ended, the series was sold to off-network syndication and the rights were handed over to Telco Broadcasting.[3] 62 of the 72 episodes were re-packaged, while 10 episodes have their own original versions intact. Edits included replacing licensed music with generic music, resulting in a new theme song (which replaced the original hip-hop theme with a new generic tune with kids chanting the show's name).

References

  1. ^ "DragonflyTV". PBS LearningMedia. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ Yager, Robert (2009). Inquiry: The Key to Exemplary Science. Arlington: NSTA. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-1935155041.
  3. ^ "Dragonfly TV". Telco Productions. Retrieved 2025-06-15.