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BCM's Own Mr. Wizardby George Kovacik
The show had a huge following with more than 5,000 Mr. Wizard science clubs in the U.S. Every week children would sit in front of their black and white TV sets and watch Mr. Wizard conduct experiments, and make science seem exciting and fun. One of those children was Baylor anatomist and teacher, Cassius Bordelon, Ph.D. "Mr. Wizard was my hero," said Bordelon, a BCM associate professor of cell biology. "He spoke in easy-to-understand terms. In other words, you didn't need a Ph.D. to figure out how he made a grain mill explode." Bordelon has brought that same approach to his own Mr. Wizard-type TV venture—The Body Explained. Each month, he tackles topics ranging from "Why do we blush?" to "Why do we sneeze?" The BCM-produced show is sent to 80 television stations in the U.S. and is beginning to make inroads with public school systems where educators find Bordelon's zany style just right for today's students. "This is a great way to present how the body works to people, especially kids," said Bordelon. "If I can make science fun for kids, one of them might get excited enough to become a scientist." The show was built around Bordelon's somewhat quirky personality and his love of teaching. His scientific mind, and ability to relate complicated information in an easy-to-understand manner seemed made-to-order. "It took a while to get used to the teleprompter and the camera," said Bordelon. "But once I did, I realized that this is a lot of fun." The one-minute segments were designed to be incorporated into television news broadcasts, and are a supplemental video segment to BCM's TV Healthline which has been produced for nearly 25 years. The Body Explained was discovered as well by BCM's Center for Educational Outreach, which has distributed 600 CD copies of the segments to science teachers across the country. The Body Explained is also featured on BioEd Online (www.bioedonline.org), a BCM-produced educational website that provides middle and high school biology teachers with a wide array of free instructional resources. The website is accessed by some of the 2,800 users daily. "The great thing about The Body Explained is that all of the segments are appropriate for all levels of instruction, including teachers," said William Thomson, Ph.D., director of the Center for Educational Outreach. "Each vignette triggers curiosity and provides a natural pathway to learning." Bordelon has become quite the actor as the show's host, from twirling an umbrella a la Julie Andrews to "performing" opera. His willingness to, well, just be himself and his comprehensive knowledge of the human body, makes The Body Explained a unique learning tool...and fun. "The human body is the most fascinating thing there is," said Bordelon. "If I can get people excited about studying it by acting a little goofy for a minute at a time, I am not going to miss that opportunity." The Body Explained can be viewed at www.bcm.edu/news/broadcastcenter/bodyexplained.cfm. |
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Volume 2, Issue 1, Spring 2006 |
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| Last modified: April 10, 2006 |
In the mid-1950s, a little-known Wisconsin science teacher launched Mr. Wizard, a weekly NBC education show that brought clever experiments and a love of learning in Kinescope across America.