*The Maeda Prize was established on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the JAPAN PRIZE to commemorate Mr. Yoshinori Maeda, former president of NHK, who made great efforts to develop the JAPAN PRIZE.

This weekly series has been broadcast for more than three years since September 2005 to provide science programs to children aged 8 to 14.   Dr. Rob, the host of the program, tries to unlock the secret of science and technology in everyday life with his slick footwork. His wit and humor in conducting the show is an important factor of this program’s popularity.   The initial purpose of this series is to bring Australian children closer to science and technology, and now the series receives responses even from educators and adult viewers.   The episode submitted to the contest focuses on the movement of the human body. The program features a modern pentathlon athlete in the Paralympics who introduces the function of sports artificial legs, a researcher using magnetic stimulator to explain brain waves and primary school children who attempt an experiment to learn how exercise affects memory.

The jury chose the science program 'SCOPE' as the winner in this very important division, because of its innovative, high quality approach to science education and making science fun and entertaining.   The format expanded the young audiences experience and understanding and appeared to take them away from just one medium as they watched the program like reading a science magazine.   Children are active viewers and the program was effective in it’s pacing , it’s mix of sound and effects and it’s tackling of science topics and exploring the different components of each topic down layer by layer.   We felt the host, Dr Robert Bell, was a major strength in the program with his quirky style of presentation and the way he made complex scientific content fun and entertaining to not only watch but to understand. Educational programs enable children to be active participants in society with the ability to make critical choices regarding their lifestyle and future dreams.   This episode of the series explored the movement of the human body and put the realms of this technology into day to day living experiences.

Winning the Maeda Prize is a great honour and a wonderful reward for the small but hard working Scope team. Indeed, the opportunity to send our host Dr. Rob Bell to accept the award on the show's behalf proved that not everyone on the team is small.   When Scope was created the aim was to provide children a weekly dose of science disguised as fun, interesting and often humorous television. Our number one priority is to make the stories interesting and relevant to our audience while at the same time educate them about the science that existing all around them. Being judged the best educational television series by an esteemed jury only confirms that not only are we on track in our goals. Dr Rob was especially taken by the overwhelmingly positive comments and feedback he received from many of the people involved in the organising and judging of the awards. Stephen Waller Series Producer