Co-hosts Jay and Elisha go on a mysterious and eerie exploration to where the sun don't shine - underground! Elisha goes on a dark adventure into subway tunnels after closing to see where the trains sleep. Jay visits Boston to witness a massive construction project designed to move a raised highway underground. Charlie does a cool experiment to demonstrate hydraulics.
Go 10,000 leagues under the sea to find out all about submarines! Jay and Elisha explore wooden subs, subs that dive to the deepest parts of the ocean - they even find a sub bigger than your house!
A vampire and a monster step out of nighttime shadows... and turn out to be Jay and Elisha! Our hosts take us on an adventure into the castle of special effects... Universal Studios. Jay rides a boat on a collision course with an evil boat he blows up! We see how to make explosions happen and make sure no one gets hurt. Elisha makes fake blood and gets shot – safely!
Co-hosts Elisha and Jay take a walk on the wild side at some of the world's coolest zoos and biodomes! At the Montreal Biodome, they explore a deep, dark jungle that turns out to be a man-made tropical forest built to provide animals with an environment as close to their natural habitat as possible. Jay becomes an honorary vet for the day and Elisha bathes an elephant!
Thrill-seeking co-hosts Elisha and Jay go cruising for the world’s coolest cars. They visit the renowned Jim Russell Racing Drivers School to learn the ropes of working at a pit stop. Jay changes tires in a hurry, adjusts wings, and learns about race car mechanics. Elisha and Jay go inside the huge trucks to squash real cars and discover what makes a truck into a monster!
Co-hosts Jay and Elisha ride some of the most frightening roller coasters in the world! Elisha searches for the most thrilling coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. They climb the tracks with a mechanic to check for cracks, loose bolts and other hazards. Jay learns how centrifugal force makes a coaster work and that he will be weightless for six seconds!
On your marks, get set... GO! Co-hosts Elisha and Jay sweat their way through the exciting world of sports! They shoot hoops with NBA star Damon Stoudamire and blame their shoes when they lose. Damon takes them to the NIKE lab to show what he needs in a shoe, and how NIKE made it a reality. They explore the science of skateboarding and Jay learns to pitch like a big leaguer!
Jay and Elisha plug their noses and take a trip into the smelly world of garbage! Elisha visits a recycling center in California and sorts paper, bottles and cans, and bales them for shipping. She then finds herself knee-deep in mud, feeding pigs while Jay is at Fresh Kills Landfill, waist-deep in garbage. Elisha learns how to strip a car and Jay meets a garbage archaeologist.
It’s a wet and wild adventure exploring the world's coolest boats! Co-hosts Elisha and Jay work aboard a tugboat, steering boats in and out of port. They check out cranes and machines that move the cargo off and onto boats, and watch as liquids like molasses are piped off the ship and into a liquid bulk facility. Then it's off to the races for an exciting speedboat experience.
Co-hosts Jay and Elisha learn the ups and downs of buildings – the hard way! Jay pushes all of the buttons (in an elevator) and learns why elevators don’t fall if the cable breaks. Elisha pours concrete, flies a concrete frisbee and helps build the top floor of a building. Next she pushes the ultimate button and demolishes an entire building into dust and rubble!
Co-hosts Jay and Elisha set to sea on the most dangerous 4.5 acres on earth... an aircraft carrier! They spend three days aboard the USS Eisenhower, and learn that an aircraft carrier is a floating city! It carries up to 6000 people and 100 airplanes. There's a TV station, a jail, a library, even a barbershop! Elisha drives the carrier and Jay helps land a plane.
Co-hosts Jay and Elisha get charged up for one shocking adventure after another! At the Boston Museum of Science they create an indoor electrical storm to learn what causes lightening, work on live wires and learn how electricity can help save someone having a heart attack. Jay builds a windmill and our co-hosts learn how an electron microscope works.
Co-hosts Jay and Elisha learn where our food really comes from. Jay creates a Ben and Jerry’s flavor. On a request from Hillary Clinton, Elisha and Jay teach children to avoid food poisoning and contamination. They visit a gourmet chef who cooks a healthy meal – pasta with mealworms and chocolate-covered crickets for dessert!
This is hot! Co-hosts Elisha and Jay explore the work of emergency teams – firefighters, airplane crash crews and water bombers. They visit a burn-building where fire fighters train for infernos. Jay handles a water hose, and Elisha watches as a water bomber scoops water from lakes to drop on out-of-control runway fires. They learn expert safety tips in case of a fire.
On this whale of a show co-hosts Elisha and Jay explore Monterey Bay aquarium to learn about the care and feeding of whales, sea lions and other denizens of the deep. Elisha becomes a medical assistant and brushes a sea lion’s teeth (bad breath!), Jay watches scuba divers as they clean a shark tank and they visit an aquarium with a window as large as a railway car.
Co-hosts Elisha and Jay visit the Lego factory and help build a life-sized model racecar. Next they explore some of the best selling toys in history – Frisbee, Slinky, Teddy Bears, and Play-Doh. At Nintendo they watch game counselors answer questions from callers stumped by the hottest games of all – video games. Elisha and Jay have the time of their lives!
Get ready to blast off as our co-hosts, Jay and Elisha, visit the final frontier – outer space! At the Johnson Space Center Elisha learns how spacesuits are designed, visits the astronaut training center and launches the space shuttle. Jay meets four astronauts and dreams of becoming one until he puts on a tumbling space suit that simulates motion in the space shuttle.
At I.S. Robotics our co-hosts, Jay and Elisha, meet robots that respond to voice commands, use proximity sensors, react to light, sound and touch, and simulate emotions and mood. Jay wears a sensor suit that enables a robot to mimic his every move. Elisha learns how robots disarm landmines, and Jay becomes a member of a SWAT team and uses a robot to bow up a suspected bomb.
An episode with all of the grossest, scariest and most exciting moments of past shows as our co-hosts, Jay and Elisha, travel the continent to learn how things work. They fight fires, visit sewers, eat bugs, and drive monster trucks. Amazing, embarrassing and entertaining adventures, full of action, learning and fun (including a trip to the White House). Unforgettable fun!
Co-hosts Elisha and Jay show us what makes the world go round – money. Elisha acts as a stockbroker for a day; Jay works the floor of the Stock Exchange (where he wears platform shoes to ensure that he will be seen). Later he visits the mint where he pours a million dollars worth of gold bars and he is given the chance to keep a bar worth $150,000 – if he can pick it up!
In this episode on air transportation co-hosts Elisha and Jay really take flight. In an accident simulator Elisha experiences conditions one would face in an airplane crash landing and learns how to exit a burning plane. Jay visits a jet engine factory and climbs into an F-18 jet. Finally, Elisha flies in a hot air balloon with a pilot who deliberately hits treetops.
In this episode co-hosts Elisha and Jay learn the secrets of the music industry. Elisha learns how to be a DJ, and discovers the recording secrets that turn an average singer into a professional quality artist. Jay lives out a childhood dream – after learning the tricks musicians use during live performances, Jay plays with a rock band during an actual concert!
Bike plane, body-flying, wing-walking, and boomerangs.
Elisha travels to the North Pole to explore the 2000-year-old way of life of the Inuit people. She learns to handle a dog sled and leads an expedition near the North Pole. She builds an igloo that is stronger than a brick house, and when she’s done she invites friends over for a traditional feast – seal eyes and brains, anyone? At least there’s ice cream for dessert.
Who hasn’t dreamt of being James Bond for a day? Tyler and Elisha enter the cloak and dagger world of spies and detectives as they learn how to solve crimes with the high-tech gadgetry you see in the movies. Elisha learns how to collect evidence at a crime scene. And when they come under suspicion, they discover how difficult it is to fool a lie detector.
Eww, gross! Elisha and Tyler learn that disgusting things are useful. Tyler visits a plant where mountains of filth go through a fermentation tank and come out as animal feed. Miniature medical cameras take us on a tour of the human digestive system and we see what happens to the food we eat. And we learn how to make boogers out of sugar and protein. Yucky fun!
Tyler explores the fascinating world of oceans and ocean creatures – in scary, up-close way. He enters a steel cage to swim with sharks and learns that they would rather avoid humans – even as they bite at the bars of his cage. And in Iceberg Alley, Tyler learns how icebergs were formed thousands of years ago and why they are so dangerous to navigation.
Tyler and Charlie become police officers for a day. Tyler joins the L.A.P.D to learn how to handle a car safely in a high-speed chase and learns how to fire a gun in a reflex-testing “Fun House” chamber where cardboard people, good and bad, jump out at them – can he recognize the difference in time? Charlie discovers how to keep his bicycle safe from thieves.
Our co-hosts, Tyler and Elisha take up some demanding sports: word class snowboarding, surfing and hockey. Tyler trains with the Olympic snowboarding team and uses physics to figure out how to go faster. Elisha visits Hawaii to surf and learn how waves form. And she goes up against an NHL hockey player and learns how ice affects the game.
Elisha and Tyler enter the world of the movies to discover how they do all of those awesome tricks. At an animation studio Elisha learns how to fall off a building (safely, of course) and Charlie learns the principles of animation. Tyler learns how to add all of the sound effects needed in a movie and he performs in a martial arts sequence with a kung-fu expert.
Our co-hosts go up against the most powerful force ever – Mother Nature! Elisha hovers above the Kilauea volcano, close enough to feel the heat from its flowing lava. Tyler gets blown away by a tornado at Universal Studios and Charlie shows us how to make a fake hurricane. Next Tyler learns how scientists set off an explosion to create controlled avalanches.
Elisha and Tyler meet real life Doctor Doolittle who really communicate with animals. Elisha goes to Dolphin Habitat to learn how biologists use rewards to teach sea animals to perform stunts. Tyler explores the world of animal actors and learns how professional they really are. At an airport we learn that falcons are used to keep birds off the runways.
Co-hosts Elisha and Tyler light up the exciting world of the night. In Las Vegas, home of the neon sign, Elisha learns how to make neon lights out of different gases, bent glass and electrodes. Tyler is wired up in a sleep lab to learn how active our brains are during sleep. And Elisha discovers that bats are intelligent, good-natured creatures – not so scary after all!
When lives are at stake, every second counts, as Tyler learns. He goes on a recue mission to save someone buried in an avalanche. He joins a S.W.A.T. team during a real life hostage situation that ends when the team breaks down the door and arrests the suspect! He also learns how lifeguards perform daring rescues at sea, and Charlie shows us survival tips.
Co-hosts Tyler and Elisha run off to join the circus and learn how hard fun can be. Elisha tries walking a tightrope at Montreal’s National Circus School and flies through the air with the Cirque de Soleil. Tyler takes clown lessons at the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Baily’s Greatest Show on Earth. Charlie gets in the act and learns to how to juggle.
Our co-hosts reach for the stars. Travelling to Hawaii’s Keck Observatory Elisha operates one of the world’s largest optic infrared telescopes. She experiences negative gravity and weightlessness riding the Power Tower. And our host learns that the closest simulation to of zero gravity is created in a swimming pool – and how hard it is to move when you are weightless.
Co-hosts Tyler and Elisha visit swamps and wetlands to learn about these fascinating eco-systems and how they are being depleted at an alarming rate. In the Everglades Tyler learns how alligators and other wildlife are disappearing, affecting the food chain. Elisha gets caught in quicksand in the Louisiana bayou and Tyler learns about alligators from a wrangler.
Elisha and Tyler get behind the wheel – of Mega Trucks. Tyler accompanies the driver of an 18-wheeler on a mission to deliver hundreds of thousands of cookies. Elisha helps drive city trucks – street sweepers, one that waters plants, a giant vacuum on wheels. And she goes to Alberta to drive the biggest dump truck in the world and watches it drive over another vehicle.
This is explosive! Elisha learns to set up and design a fireworks show, with its centuries of tradition; Tyler helps blast rocks at a quarry and learns how these materials are used to make skyscrapers, tunnels bridges and roads. We learn how huge explosions are safely set off for movies, and Charlie show how to experience a fun explosion – safely!
A fast track episode. Tyler goes to Atlanta to race against the fastest man in the world and to discover the attributes that made him so fast. In Philadelphia, he rides in a car powered by a jet engine and an afterburner whose special features keep it from becoming airborne. And our host checks out the F-22, the fastest fighter jet.
A collection of Tyler and Elisha’s best and most exciting adventures from episodes 23 – 40 of Popular Mechanics for Kids.
Tyler and Elisha discover what makes bugs both gross and fascinating. Elisha cleans a leech tank and learns why they are being used in medicine again. Tyler learns that cockroaches have survived for 300 million years and are the only creature that would survive a nuclear blast. Elisha walks into a swarm of bees and learns about their complicated society.
How monstrous! Tyler and Elisha explore the world of monumental machines. Tyler travels to Illinois to meet Magasaurus, a 50,000 lb., 3-story tall robot/truck/tank. He shows us all of this monster’s capabilities when he gets behind the controls. Its biting force of 15,000 lbs. means it can eat cars (or boats, and even houses) for lunch.
For the season finale, young viewers ask their own questions and Popular Mechanics for Kids goes on adventures to find the answers. Charlie performs one last experiment – sucking an egg into a bottle! It’s easier than it sounds.
Who says school is boring? Not co-hosts Tyler and Vanessa, once they visit some of the most unusual schools around. There's the school where Tyler learns the tricks to underwater acting. Or one where Vanessa learns to bodyguard the rich and famous. At Hummer school she learns care and maintenance of giant vehicles.
A dream come true! Tyler and Elisha visit the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Elisha learns about the 220 computers that run the Incredible Hulk Coaster, is shot out of a tunnel and experiences zero gravity. Tyler walks through a 40-foot water vortex and sees how technology runs the 13-foot high dinosaurs on Jurassic Park Island.
Co-hosts Tyler and Vanessa visit with some of the oceans’ biggest creatures. Tyler goes to the Human Dolphin Institute to swim in open water with these amazing creatures. At Sea World he bottle-feeds an orphan manatee and releases a recovered turtle to the ocean. Vanessa tries to extract the blubber from a humpback whale to learn about its eating habits.
It’s a dirty job, but … Vanessa and Tyler experience some really filthy work. Vanessa searches a New York City garbage dump for something she lost. Tyler gets mucky taking care of rhinos as a zookeeper. And Vanessa visits a fish-gutting factory to see how fish gets from the ocean to our dinner tables. What a stinker!
Our co-hosts learn the true meaning of the word slimy. Elisha hunts wood frogs, takes them back to a lab where she freezes them, then thaws them and brings them back to life. Tyler accepts shipment of 300,000 worms at a huge bait farm. Vanessa meets, weighs and feeds Neah, a giant octopus. And Charlie teaches us how to make slime.
Our co-hosts learn the ins-and-outs of the human body – the hard way. Elisha break dances to discover if she can do upside down head spins. Vanessa learns to set a human bone and Tyler enters a swimming/biking/running triathlon against some of the world’s best athletes (can he finish?). Charlie shows us how to walk on hot coals and break wood with bare hands.
PMK turns ghost hunters as Tyler tracks down the spirits haunting the USS Hornet ship. After that he tries to extract the poisonous venom from a tarantula for scientific research. And Vanessa gets made up as a zombie at the Thrillvania Theme Park in Texas to help frighten kids – but it’s all in good, scary fun.
Our co-hosts are in for some two-wheeled fun as they learn about all kinds of bikes and cycles. Tyler rides the Lean and Slide Bike, built to whip around corners at record speeds without crashing. Vanessa is a motorcycle daredevil at a racetrack and rides on a souped-up bike as it does super-wheelies. And Charlie shows us how to make a bike sound like a motorcycle.
Elisha and Tyler fly high in some of the world’s most exciting flying machines. Elisha flies a blimp over the city’s skyline. Tyler trains in paragliding and jumps off the Niagara escarpment. At Edwards Air force Base he learns about the SR-71 Blackbird high-speed research plane and watches trained pilots react to emergency situations in a flight simulator.
Favorite adventures, most exciting moments, most exotic places. This is a compilation of the best and most fascinating episodes with co-hosts Elisha, Tyler and Vanessa as they learn and experience, first-hand, how things really work.
Tyler goes on a real-life treasure hunt as he dives with underwater archaeologists when they find a buried ship loaded with pirate booty. He learns the technique of staging sword fights and goes up against a professional stage combatant. Elisha sets off an explosion in a gold mine to break up gold-filled rocks and Charlie shows us how a cannonball flies.
Cool! Vanessa travels to Hollywood to learn how the pros turn a summer movie set into a winter wonderland. She watches an ice sculptor carve a racecar out of ice blocks. Elisha drives a Zamboni machine and gets an ice rink ready for a hockey game. Tyler visits NASA’s Ice Research Tunnel where they study how to make winter air flights safer by avoiding ice build-up.
Vanessa travels to Sand Mountain in Nevada where she rides a dune buggy and heads down the largest sand dune in the U.S. on a sand board. Next she goes on a snake hunt and learns whether the snake she catches is poisonous. Tyler co-pilots a truck modified for off-road desert racing. And Charlie teaches us survival techniques for desert climates.
Tyler learns about the features of vehicles built to protect world leaders. He tests bullet-proof glass, tries to drill through the armor. Next he uses safety harnesses and ropes to scale down the side of a tall building. Elisha prepares a family of crash-test dummies for a car crash at 40 mph. Charlie teaches us how to build a portable burglar alarm.
There’s a lot going on under the surface in this episode. Elisha travels more than a mile under the earth in search of gold – and finds it! Then Tyler learns if the slimy stuff on cave walls is useful in medical research. Afterwards he travels to the world’s only underwater laboratory to unlock the ocean’s great secrets.
Our co-hosts travel to Southern California to train with the Navy Seals, the elite military maritime unit trained to take on the highest-risk missions. They learn how much physical and mental training is necessary to become a Seal, and the high-tech equipment and strategies they use to launch attacks and conduct search-and-rescue missions.
Our co-hosts meet up with some of the world’s most dangerous animals. Tyler walks and feeds tigers at a sanctuary caring for these endangered creatures. Vanessa learns how scientists deal with hungry polar bears that leave their habitats and wander into cities in search of food. And Elisha feeds a Komodo Dragon --one of the most dangerous animals on earth!
At NASA’S Deep Space Network Control Headquarters Tyler learns how to lock the dish and antenna in place so it can receive messages from a spacecraft more than 90 million miles away. Vanessa visits the home of the SPAWN comic book and watches as the artist create the panels for this popular superhero. And Charlie teaches us how to defy gravity!
PMK brings you a hit parade of favorite adventures. Created for curious minds of all ages, Elisha, Tyler, Vanessa and Charlie are always at the center of the action, meeting new people, traveling to exciting places and discovering how and why things really work.
Out of this world! Vanessa travels to the NASA laboratory to enter a world of virtual reality. She learns how space stations are built and the way astronauts train for actual missions. Tyler tests his skills in a space lifeboat designed to bring sick astronauts back to earth and rides in a vomit van specially designed for emergency situations.
Wild, wonderful – and wet! Our co-hosts travel to Niagara Falls and get soaked. Tyler goes behind the scenes to learn how the massive falls are used to create electricity. Afterwards he puts on a wet suit to accompany an emergency oil spill team. Elisha shoots down rocky rapids in an ultra-modern, indestructible raft.
Our hosts run away and join the circus – for the day. They learn how much work goes into engineering a mega-stadium event. Elisha trains with the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, discovering how much effort is needed to make their spine-tingling acrobatics look so easy. She even gets to perform before a large audience. Good luck!
Our co-hosts indulge in some action-packed extreme sports. Tyler flies up to 400 feet in the air in the “Dream Machine,” a parachute-powered glider plane. Next, he flies downhill on a “street luge”, a gravity-powered board that sits just 2-inches from the pavement. And Vanessa goes kite skiing, at speeds up to 20 mph, powered solely by the wind.
Our co-hosts learn the dangers and difficulties facing men and women who respond to disasters. Vanessa learns how to create landslides in order to learn how to react to them. She trains with a Collapse Rescue Team --those called in to help with building collapses, fires and accidents. Tyler sets a fire -- to learn how firefighters train for emergencies.
Our co-hosts earn how to escape from life-threatening emergencies. Vanessa studies with Dean Gunnerson an escape artist she places in a straight jacket and hangs upside down from a crane by a rope that she then sets on fire! Tyler escapes from a helicopter sinking underwater at the Survival Training Center and trains to get out of a high-rise fire using the Life Chute.
Our co-hosts really horse around. Tyler visits the Strathcona Mounted Horse Troop whose 20 horses are trained to follow incredibly intricate instructions. Next he is dressed in full armor to learn the medieval sport of jousting. Meanwhile Vanessa becomes a cowgirl, learning to herd cattle, rope calves and tie lassos and Charlie teaches us to throw a lariat.
Wet and wild! Tyler explores a huge submarine canyon in a remote-controlled underwater vehicle and studies never-before-seen life forms. Next, wearing a diving suit that weighs a ton he’ll learn how welders work underwater to fix pipelines and ships. And finally he stays at Jules’s Underwater Sea Lodge, an underwater hotel where air has to be piped in.
Our co-hosts go military. Tyler joins the Skyhawks, an elite parachute team and jumps out of a plane at 10,000 feet strapped to another man’s back. Vanessa pilots a fighter plane and does loops and turns in a simulated dogfight. On the ground she operates a surveillance truck called Coyote that can spy on targets 13 miles away.