Copyright: Bill Nye
Teacher, geek, scientist, neurotic Disney mom/wife/daughter/child at heart. What do these words have in common? Well, they pretty much help describe who I am. Now imagine how said person would react to the opportunity to meet Bill Nye. Yes, I mean Bill Nye the Science Guy. Do you remember Bill as the host of the Disney children’s science show from 1993-1997? Here is a refresher to jog your memory:
Oh, Disney people may also recognize Bill Nye from another infamous role he played. Think Epcot, Jeopardy!, dinosaurs, and energy. Yes, since 1996 Bill has played the neighbor of Ellen DeGeneres in the Universe of Energy ride. Bill Nye also shows up in a few other locations in the Disney Parks. As guests wait in the queue at the Animal Kingdom’s Dinosaur attraction, they listen to Nye telling them about the dinosaurs. Bill is also “Bill Nye the Coaster Guy” when he appears in the Design Lab of CyberSpace Mountain at DisneyQuest.
The reality is that Bill Nye is an educator, scientist, comedian, television show host, mechanical engineer, author, and inventor. For years he has been working to help make kids excited about science. When I was in college, I worked at an educational supply store. We had a VCR (dating myself here) that was set up to play on a big television in the store. To say that our Bill Nye the Science Guy tapes were rather well loved and worn would be an understatement. I love that on his biography it says that Nye’s mission is:
“to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work.”
One of my favorites was the show on The Planets & Moons (see video above), but they were all fun to watch. Over the years, Bill Nye covered over 100 unique topics that won him 28 Emmys and multiple other awards. Each episode topic is 26 minutes long and targeted to children in grades 3-8. Some of the topics covered by Bill Nye the Science Guy include germs, the water cycle, chemical reactions, volcanoes, phases of matter, friction, forensics, marine mammals, genes, and nutrition. My dream would be to own the entire collection of Bill Nye the Science Guy episodes one day. A girl can dream – right?!
Yes, Bill Nye and his quirky ways made it cool to want to learn, explore, and teach science. I used Bill’s DVDs in my classroom. It was amazing to listen to the laughter as my students genuinely learned about the topics we covered in a new unique way. As Mom to an inquisitive second grader, I look forward to introducing him to Bill Nye the Science Guy.
So how did I get to see Bill Nye? Well, you’ll have to check back in next week for the story. For now, I will leave you with more of what Bill Nye as been up to. These are great resources for fans, parents, teachers, and homeschoolers.
- Bill Nye’s official corner of the Internet
- Official Bill Nye Fan Page on Facebook
- Bill Nye in 140 characters or less on Twitter
- Disney Educational Videos – Science and Math with lots of Bill Nye titles
- Watch some clips of Bill Nye the Science Guy on his official YouTube Channel
Do you have any special memories of Bill Nye the Science guy? If you do, I would love to hear about them.
Contributed by: Beth L. (NDM#183) Beth is the DDL Education Blogger. She is also the creator of The Angel Forever.
Beth was born and raised in upstate New York. She is a happily married teacher, now SAHM to her two young sons. As a child, she and her parents would go to Walt Disney World nearly every year, creating a love for all things Disney that flourished well into adulthood.
Beth worked hard to convince her husband to spend their ten day honeymoon at Walt Disney World in 2001. In May 2009, Beth’s dream of taking her two boys to see the magic came true. It was a three generation experience, including the original Disney dreamers, her parents. Now her entire family has been bitten by the Disney bug and eagerly anticipate their next adventure to Florida.
Beth’s love for all things Disney has helped to inspire her at home, in the classroom, and beyond. She always has a camera close by to catch magical memories for her blog, TheAngelForever.com
Thanks for the blog on Bill Nye. We homeschool our 10 year old & use Bill Nye as a science resource sometimes. Our son enjoys watching his DVD’s as a lesson supplement. The DVD’s really are good & a great change of pace from the textbook!
Bill Nye rules!!! My sons, ages 7 & 4, cannot get enough of the Bill Nye DVDs! We borrow 4 Nye videos from the library every week! The boys rave about each one they watch. Thank you for sharing the resources and links!!
I love Bill Nye and all that he has done to advance the love and understanding of science with children (and adults). I have a feeling there will be more Bill Nye posts as time goes on.
Monday I went to our local library and saw Bill Nye DVDs for the first time. Not sure if I missed them before, or they are new to us. I took one out and looked to see what other titles other branches have for the future. Can not wait to watch it with my boys (almost 4 and 7).
Love him! We used to watch his videos at school all the time 🙂