INGENUITYThe family science gamethat asks, "What IS That?!"

Ingenuity is a fast-paced science game show for families where teams compete to figure out what modern devices do, conduct science experiments, and operate robots!

Three two-person teams, each consisting of a parent and a child (age 7 to 12), compete in three exciting segments: Gadgets & Guesses, Stand-Up Science, and Cyber Challenge.

Ingenuity has the potential to be a break-out family show like Wheel of Fortune. The game is about “the figuring out,” not book knowledge. And the world is gadget-crazy. Having parent and child teams will add extra appeal for adult viewers, as adults can identify with other adults, and the parent-child relationship adds a layer of drama.

For non-televised shows, two-child teams (without parents) would also be effective. Two-child teams, especially in a science museum theatre setting, may be more practical, as school groups will probably be the main audiences. There is room to vary the contestant formula as the show develops and grows.


GADGETS & GUESSES

Three experts from sports, science, politics, and show business, in pre-taped segments, give different descriptions of the same object. Only one is telling the truth about the object’s function.

Contestants must figure out which expert is telling the truth.

Gadgets & Guesses is designed to introduce role models from science and industry. Famous inventors and scientists will be interspersed with celebrities from music, television, movies, and sports. We will also be able to have fun with the juxtaposition of celebrities. Maybe Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, and Kathie Lee Gifford will lie for us. Lindsay Lohan, Avril Lavagne, and Christina Aguilera. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Snap, Crackle and Pop.

After four rounds of Gadgets & Guesses, one team is eliminated. The two remaining teams move on to….


STAND-UP SCIENCE

This segment combines aspects of Double Dare and The Price is Right with the attractions of a modern hands-on science museum. Teams will be challenged to build wooden-block buildings that can withstand 1-minute earthquakes, or create an alphabet for blind people using mud – in other words, messy, brain-intensive games that require creative thinking skills.

One team will survive Stand-Up Science to take the…


CYBER CHALLENGE

This is the grand finale where the winning team can win valuable prizes. This segment features the Digi-Neuro-Automotive ViRbot ("ViRbot" for Virtual Reality Robot.) It looks like a giant gyroscope with robotic arms, and gets its inspiration from the weird automobiles that Toyota engineers build for car shows. (Toyota would be approached to design and build the ViRbot.) Contestants will use the ViRbot to do in the 3-D world what kids do in video games like Super Mario Brothers Double Dash: set a clock, collect balloons, tie some shoes, etc.

Ingenuity is a very fun, fast-paced show, filled with scripted expert/celebrity lies, messy action, and nerve-wracking physical challenges. It is easy to laugh and play along with at home.

The show is accessible for audiences of all ages. Previously syndicated science programs, Beakman’s World and Bill Nye The Science Guy, tended to exclude adult audiences because of their devotion to Junior High School-level data. Ingenuity, however, is about the "figuring out," not book knowledge. It encourages all ages to play along and use their powers of analysis, observation, and deduction to solve the problems put before the contestants. It is as much a family game show as a children's educational show.


PARTNERSHIP POTENTIAL

Since the show relies on the kinds of hands-on exploration that goes on at science museums, we would like to tape the program at such a facility. (The Pacific Science Center, in Seattle, is already interested.)

This would open up additional revenue potential from ticket sales. (After spending one day taping five episodes -- the usual game-show schedule -- the show could repeat itself, with different hosts and contestants, the rest of the week.

Ingenuity also intends to partner with the worldwide technology industry promoting new products in show segments. Manufacturers are invited to underwrite the television program, our school outreach efforts, and the live tour of science museums.


LICENSING POTENTIAL

If we position Ingenuity as an educational lifestyle, and not just as a game show, we will be able to reach out to many product categories.

Games and science kits. The obvious categories.

Computer hardware and software makers, and electronics manufacturers. The Ingenuity seal of approval will help them sell more products.

Clothing. Casual clothing decorated with scientific formulae, images from the opening montage of the show, and other “smart” things that will help make learning cool.

Books and other media. A science magazine for kids, geeky greeting cards, and a line of books about science and natural history are all naturals.


A TYPICAL EPISODE


OPENING CREDITS

During a lively, animated, opening credit sequence, machines fall apart, get put back together, and take on new and unusual functions. For example, the parts of a vacuum cleaner may become hair accessories. This segment gets viewers thinking about the way things work.


WELCOME

Ingenuity is set in an old-fashioned science laboratory with decidedly high-tech capabilities. The style is "retro-stodgy": an old wooden laboratory table has flashy oversized racing wheels, an antique roll-top desk has built-in video
monitors, etc.

The host works from the roll-top desk stage right. A giant video monitor sits center stage, surrounded by shelves of assorted gadgets, gizmos and gewgaws.

Stage left is a sunken, carpeted activity area with laboratory tables.
Downstage, just in front of the audience and suspended overhead, is the Digi-Neuro-Automotivel ViRbot. The ViRbot is dramatically lit throughout the program, and is lowered and used for the final game round.

The host, a young man or woman to be cast, welcomes three teams, each consisting of a child between the ages of 7 and 12 and a parent or other relative. After the host briefly explains the rules, the game begins.


PART 1: Gadgets & Guesses

On the large video monitor, in pre-recorded bits, three separate celebrities give different descriptions of the same object a la The Liar's Club. The following, based on a real invention, is a suggested segment:


FAMOUS BOTANIST
(Jerry Tauber)
(In a greenhouse)
This is a hydroponic plant stabilizer. Each plant needs
one in order to grow without dirt in a hydroponic
greenhouse. The plant stem is held in the top bracket. Plastic tubing, which brings nutrients to the plant's roots, is held in the bottom bracket. This button adjusts to crimp or release the tubing in order to regulate the flow of nutrients to each plant.

FAMOUS BASKETBALL PLAYER
(Yolanda Griffith)
(In uniform on basketball court foul line)
What do you suppose this is? This is a basketball weave caliper. Refs use it to make sure that the netting on the basketball hoop has the right thickness and elasticity. You just can’t put any kind of string up there! The ref puts a piece of rope that he knows is right into this top slot, then clips the bottom slot over the net he is checking. He pushes this button and the bottom slot squeezes the rope being tested. A chart on the back tells him if it’s all right. And if it’s all right, it’s all right! (Makes shot.)

FAMOUS TV STAR
(Bart Simpson)
(Animated, at home)
You know how sometimes late at night, you really gotta
go to the bathroom, but you won't because you know that
giant rats are waiting to drag you down into the sewer? Well, this is a potty seat lock. One side clips on the bottom toilet seat, and the other clips to the top so that the rats can't get out. When you gotta use the can, you just take a deep breath and lift the heavy lids together. But you better be quick, man. Giant rats can smell lunch from 50 fathoms!


Teams must now figure out which celebrity is telling the truth. After they make their guesses known, the truthful testimony is replayed, this time showing the item in use. (In this example, Bart Simpson was telling the truth.)

Four Gadgets & Guesses rounds are played. The two teams with the highest number of correct guesses move on to Part 2.

In the event of a tie, a tie breaker will be used. This will be a quiz question such as "Which was invented last: the telephone, the typewriter, or the radio?" or "Here is a picture of Regis Fullbin, the royal appleseller, who has forgotten his key to the castle. The only way for him to get in is to turn the drawbridge gears by hand. Which way must he turn Gear #1 in order for Gear #6 to lift the drawbridge?" These questions are based on thinking skills, not just memorized knowledge.


PART 2: Stand-Up Science

This part of the game is reminiscent of the set pieces used on The Price Is Right. A different activity, such as "The Earthquake Game," is used for each episode.

"The Earthquake Game:" On the video monitor, we see a few earthquakes affecting a few buildings, and get a brief lesson on earthquakes and building construction. Then, using building blocks, each team gets 45 seconds to build a multi-story building to withstand an earthquake. The table that they build on then vibrates, with a clock ticking off the seconds until the building collapses.

Contestants play Stand-Up Science separately against the clock. The number of seconds that their building withstands the simulated earthquake (up to limit of 60) is their score. The contestant with the highest total score moves on to Part 3. A tie-breaking question will be used, if necessary.

PART 3: The Cyber Challenge

The grand finale. The Digi-Neuro-Automotive Virtual Reality Robot (DNA ViRbot) is part video game, part amusement park ride, and part robot. Its name combines the words for human hand (digits), human brain (neuro), and self-propelled (automotive). We hope Toyota will loan us the experimental vehicles that their engineers design for their company’s Idea Expo each year.)

After the ViRbot is dramatically lowered from the rafters, the winning team climbs into it and is strapped in and helmeted. Contestants share their choice of mechanical controls, computer keyboard controls, or videogame "joystick" controls.

The task is something simple and silly: To pick up and scramble an egg, make a giant paper clip necklace, or tie a shoelace. Contestants get one minute to complete the task. If they complete it, they win the grand prize. If they don't, they get a consolation prize.

CLOSING

The contestants are thanked, the theme song plays, and the credits roll.