Nature Middle East | House of Wisdom

Stars of Science – Take Two

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I have to admit that when I first heard about the first season of Stars of Science, a prime time TV show focusing on science and innovation in the Arab world, I was very skeptic. I doubted they’d pull it off, let alone that a second season would see the light. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. High production values (make that extremely high production values), backed by the huge and resourceful Qatar Foundation, gave us an exciting show. I found myself tuning in every week to see who will leave the show that week and voting on my favorite inventions. Towards the end, I was actually routing for my favourite contestants.

Now, the show organizers have announced they just finished the screening phase of season two. They held auditions in all Arab countries, travelling from the Gulf states to the Levant and on to northern Africa.

The show is setup along the same popular formula of X-Factor – only the contestants are convincing the jury they are innovative scientists rather than talented artists. During the screening phase each hopeful contestant must present their idea in a few minutes to the jury, hoping to convince them to pick him/her for the show itself. The ideas can range from the practical, such as motorized trolleys for the handicapped to the outright wild, such as a height-controlled electrical heel for women.

After the screening session, 27 young scientists made it through, but were later screened down to 16 contestants who will carry on to the full programme. Starting with the next prime time episode, aired Sunday 31 October, 2010, the contestants will go through a series of challenges, to prove their concept and the importance of their innovation to the jury. Each week a number will be eliminated, until a final winner is left standing.

Interestingly enough, the show was picked up by 15 different TV channels in the region, with a complete guide available for broadcasting times.

I know I will personally be tuning in next Sunday for the first challenge, the “Proof of Concept” challenge, where the contestants need to convince the jury that their ideas are feasible.

Kudos to Qatar for pulling this. Science shows are not very popular worldwide, and are even less so in the Arab world. Here’s hoping the show will excite more people about science in the region.

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