Heads Up! is a series about astronomy and astronautics for 'tweens'. This series takes kids beyond the basics of the Big Dipper and the Moon and introduces them to the magical content and practical context of the night sky.

About Heads Up!

Hosted and co-written by acclaimed science journalist Bob McDonald, Heads Up! takes kids beyond the basics of the Big Dipper and the Moon, and introduces them to the magical content and practical context of the night sky. The series explores topics ranging from comets' tails to "dark matter" to the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Behind Heads Up!

Heads Up! was devised and is co-written by astronomer Ken Hewitt-White, former director of the Pacific Space Centre. Soapbox Productions president Nick Orchard, who also produced the popular astronomy series Cosmic Highway and Cosmic Odyssey, narrated by William Shatner, produces and directs the show. The series airs on TVOntario and the Knowledge Network. www.tvokids.com and www.knowledgenetwork.ca/kids

The Jury Speaks!

"I think Heads Up! is a good show if you want to know about space because they answer all the questions you might have without having to ask them."

"As a publisher of Owl, one of our mandates is to respect children's intelligence, and I think Soapbox Productions did a really great job of that," said juror Jennifer Canham. "It was an interesting half-hour. You finished the program and you felt like you'd learned something."

"Bob MacDonald is such a great communicator, and he has such an energy and passion for what he is talking about that we were completely taken into the program. Heads Up! achieved its objective in a really fantastic way," said Deirdre Brennan of Australia's ABC TV."

Patricia Ellingson, TVOntario

"TVOntario has picked up a second season of Heads Up! because there is nothing else like it being produced and it is the perfect series for kids and families to watch together. This series is a wonderful example of what happens when skilled producers mix education and entertainment. We'd be crazy not to ask for more!"

About Soapbox Productions

Formed in 1990 and headed by Nick Orchard, Soapbox Productions has produced such award-winning programs as the teen drama Northwood, the popular astronomy series Cosmic Highway, and The New Beachcombers drama. www.soapboxproductions.ca

Nick Orchard on the Prize

The Shaw Rocket Prize is one of the best nominations we can receive. It is an honour to have our program, Heads Up! selected by a jury of international programmers, and to have the winner chosen by a jury of our audience makes this more meaningful than anything else in the industry.

Shaw Rocket Prize

Now in its second year, the Shaw Rocket Prize is the largest of its kind in Canada. The winner of the $50,000 prize will be chosen by a national student jury through the Royal Conservatory of Music's Learning Through The Arts media literacy program. The winner will be awarded on May 3, 2006 at an event in Toronto.