– Series Launches its First-Ever Twitch Channel, “BUILDING STUFF WITH NOVA,” Ahead of Three-Part Special Premiering November 13 through 27 on PBS –

New special will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App

PASADENA, CA; July 16, 2024 – The award-winning PBS science series, NOVA, a production of GBH, has launched a multi-platform initiative, BUILDING STUFF, as part of its continued 50th anniversary celebration. The project, which was announced at the Television Critics Association’s Summer Press Tour in Pasadena, CA, will highlight the essential role engineering plays in the world around us in a three-part documentary series premiering on PBS this fall. Accompanying the series — an interactive way for audiences to engage in STEM learning through livestreamed content on the series’ first-ever Twitch channel, “ BUILDING STUFF WITH NOVA.”

Hosted by professional engineer and former NASA researcher Dr. Nehemiah Mabry (“Dr. Nee”), “ BUILDING STUFF WITH NOVA” invites audiences to explore the world of engineering through livestreams every weekday on Twitch, featuring content including gameplay, interactive expert interviews, and virtual field trips — plus an engineering-themed, in-person escape room, designed and built in collaboration with the audience and the escape room design team, Trapology. Through Twitch chat, the audience can interact live with Dr. Nee, ask questions, vote for ideas, and contribute to the content’s direction. The streams will culminate in a live, interactive experience over four nights at the end of October, in which Twitch audiences and players on site at GBH studios in Boston will work together to conquer the escape room by solving engineering-related puzzles. Join NOVA on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/novabuildingstuff.

”As part of NOVA’s 50th anniversary year, we’re thrilled to showcase the power of engineering and celebrate the human ingenuity that exists all around us,” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Julia Cort. “And we’re excited to continue bringing NOVA to new audiences on more platforms, including Twitch, where people can engage directly with the NOVA team and experts to solve engineering challenges together in a new and unique way..”

On the heels of the Twitch experience, NOVA will premiere the three-part documentary series “BUILDING STUFF,” Wednesdays, Nov. 13 through 27 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS. In three one-hour episodes, the series follows some of the most creative engineering experts as they build stuff that helps extend our range, amplify our abilities, and alter our environment for the better. The series, which will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App, invites audiences to experience the ups and downs with engineers as they design, build, and test their way through challenges, inspiring the inner “maker” in all of us. The three episodes are:

  • “BUILDING STUFF: BOOST IT!” (premieres Wednesday, Nov. 13 on PBS) Around the world, engineers are finding ingenious ways to amplify our abilities and senses – allowing us to access and shape the world way beyond our natural abilities. From helping a blind man see without the use of his eyes to building a sling so powerful it can propel rockets into space, see why engineering just might be the closest thing to a superpower we humans have.
  • “BUILDING STUFF: REACH IT!” (premieres Wednesday, Nov. 20 on PBS) From the time our species first evolved, we’ve been on the move. Not content to stay in one place, we’ve schemed and invented and built our way from one place to the next. From affordable deep sea subs to flying taxis to next-gen space habitats, see how today’s engineers are designing and building creative new ways for us to get all around — and even off — our planet.
  • “BUILDING STUFF: CHANGE IT!” (premieres Wednesday, Nov. 27 on PBS) Thousands of years of human innovation have allowed us to shape the environment to improve lives. The consequences of our activities are not always benign – but there are solutions. From electrifying aviation, to building robots to protect threatened coral reefs, a new generation of engineers is finding creative solutions to some of our most critical environmental challenges.

“Making things to solve problems, what we call engineering, is a fundamental human activity. It’s something we all do – and as a species, have always done. But how does it work?” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. “In BUILDING STUFF, we dive into an exciting mix of engineering stories that highlight the problem-solving process that underlies innovation, while revealing the deep historical roots that underpin every aspect of our modern world.”

“There’s nothing like capturing something new being created – which is what engineers do – and we were fortunate to find a diverse group of engineers and film them in action for BUILDING STUFF. The uncertain outcomes helped focus the efforts of both our team and the engineers, and provided for exciting storytelling,” said Executive Producer for Pellet Productions, Tod Mesirow. “We kept thinking of Thomas Edison and his team going through hundreds and thousands of attempts to find the right filament to create artificial light. We managed to find those light bulb moments and combine the stories together into new episodes of NOVA.”

Also part of the BUILDING STUFF initiative, NOVA is working with social science researchers from Slover Linett at NORC to explore how live-streaming platforms like Twitch can foster engagement, collaboration, community-building, and learning in engineering and other STEM fields. With major support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the research is particularly focused on investigating whether the design of the Twitch stream — presenting interactive content in an inclusive, approachable way — affects not only learning outcomes, but also a stronger sense of science identity and belonging for people who have historically been underrepresented in STEM fields.

NOVA Education will extend the reach and impact of BUILDING STUFF to stations and communities across the U.S. through the creation of a PBS LearningMedia collection featuring excerpts from the film series; an outreach toolkit with engineering activities inspired by the series for schools, libraries, museums, and youth engineering groups; two public screening events; virtual field trips for schools, and more.

BUILDING STUFF, a three-part series, premieres Wednesdays, Nov. 13 through 27 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS and will be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel, and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website. BUILDING STUFF is distributed internationally by PBS International.

BUILDING STUFF WITH NOVA (on Twitch) is a NOVA Production by STEMedia Incorporated for GBH. Hosted by Dr. Nehemiah Mabry. Produced by Dr. Nehemiah Mabry and Dr. Stephanie Castillo. Supervising Producer is Joanie Tobin. Senior Producer for NOVA is Caitlin Saks.

BUILDING STUFF: BOOST IT! is a NOVA Production by Pellet Productions, Inc. for GBH. Written and Produced by Tod Mesirow. Co-produced by Guisel Contreras and Ruby Kinnamon. Series Producer is Anthony Manupelli. Executive Producer for Pellet Productions is Tod Mesirow.

BUILDING STUFF: REACH IT! is a NOVA Production by Pellet Productions, Inc. for GBH. Written, Produced and Directed by Erik Olsen. Co-produced by Guisel Contreras and Ruby Kinnamon. Series Producer is Anthony Manupelli. Executive Producer for Pellet Productions is Tod Mesirow.

BUILDING STUFF: CHANGE IT! is a NOVA Production by Pellet Productions, Inc. for GBH. Written, Produced and Directed by Theresa Loong. Co-produced by Guisel Contreras and Ruby Kinnamon. Series Producer is Anthony Manupelli. Executive Producer for Pellet Productions is Tod Mesirow.

Executive Producers for NOVA are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt. NOVA is a production of GBH.

Major Funding for BUILDING STUFF is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the George D. Smith Fund, Inc.

Funding for NOVA and this program is provided by Carlisle Companies, the NOVA Science Trust with support from Margaret and William Hearst, and the Hoveida Family Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.

This material is based upon work supported by NSF under Award No. 2215269. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.

About NOVA
NOVA is the most popular primetime science series on American television, demystifying the scientific and technological concepts that shape and define our lives, our planet, and our universe. The PBS series is also one of the most widely distributed science programs around the world, and is a multimedia, multiplatform brand reaching more than 55 million Americans every year on TV and online. NOVA’s important and inspiring stories of human ingenuity, exploration, and the quest for knowledge are regularly recognized with the industry’s most prestigious awards. As part of its mission to make the scientific enterprise accessible to all, NOVA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion in all its work, from the production process to the range of stories we tell and the voices we amplify. In addition, science educators across the country rely on NOVA for resources used in the classroom as well as in museums, libraries, and after-school programs. NOVA is a production of GBH; more information can be found at pbs.org/nova, or by following NOVA on YouTube,   Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram.

About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on  pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet,  Facebook, Instagram, or through our  apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at  pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.

About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali, as well as WORLD Channel and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR®; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at wgbh.org.

Press Contacts:
Jennifer Welsh
NOVA/GBH
jennifer_welsh@wgbh.org
978.985.9835