New Science Channel show calls Inventionland home
Television's Science Channel has quite a set for its new program, "Tomorrow's World Today," premiering May 5 and featuring several well-known Pittsburgh landmarks.
Home base for the show, which will explore technology, sustainability, new ideas and world wide concepts around innovation, according to a news release, will be Inventionland in O'Hara Township.
Founder and entrepreneur George Davison, an Oakmont native, houses his "idea incubator," where inventions can go from idea to market, in a site where workers' offices are surrounded by waterfalls, lifelike trees, a shipwrecked pirate ship and a turreted castle.
Academic outreach is another mission, with the Inventionland Institute guiding students from field trips to construction and pitching of products.
Davison will serve as host of the new program, slated to air Saturdays and Sundays at 8 a.m.
A worldwide search will seek out innovative pioneers who are creating new ways to utilize natural and technological resources for a more sustainable lifestyle, the release states.
The show's first season will spotlight Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, PNC Bank and Seneca Valley School District's Creativity, Innovation and Research Center.
Throughout the series, Discovery reporter Tamara Krinsky will travel the globe reporting on innovations happening at companies such as NASA, Gildan and Allegiant Air, the release states.
An Emmy-award winning writer and actress, Krinsky currently serves as Marvel's West Coast correspondent.
Phipps' greenhouse LEED platinum status for existing building: operations and maintenance, and its sustainability efforts, will be featured in its segment. Krinsky will interview executive director Richard Piacentini, who has led the Oakland site's green transformation, according to Phipps' website.
Jason Wirick, Phipps' director of facilities and sustainability, and Piacentini participated in a day's on-site filming after producers reached out to the conservatory.
"Those forward-thinking ideas are highlighted in the show," Wirick says.
Included is a tour of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes , an education, research, and administration facility which is LEED platinum certified and the first institution worldwide to achieve WELL Platinum Pilot Certification, the highest rating awarded by the International WELL Building Institute, according to its website.
#TomorrowsWorldToday , a new television show exploringinnovations in technology and sustainability, will be premiering on the Science Channel on Sat., May 5! Check them out at @twt_explore to learn more, and take a sneak peek here: https://t.co/nDyWlKePzq pic.twitter.com/QFl4S6NdcZ
— Phipps Green Innovation (@PhippsGreen) April 6, 2018
"We have some natural systems to treat wastewater and solar panels for renewable energy generation," Wirick says.
Children are learning about sustainability in school and can be a "secret weapon," he says, in continuing best practices.
"Young people are very interested in learning something about our resources and our water and taking care of our planet," Wirick says.
"We're excited to be a part of the show, excited for it to air," he says.
Heads in the (tech) clouds
Another local highlight will be Haine Elementary/Middle School's Creativity, Innovation, and Research Center, in the Seneca Valley School District, where students in kindergarten through sixth grade can utilize technology from computers to document cameras, SMARTBoards, iPads and iPods, the district website states.
Stark classrooms are transformed into colorful, brightly lit spaces designed with overhead clouds, wall murals and a treehouse.
The center, a collaboration with Inventionland Institute, recently was an Edison Awards bronze winner.
Seneca Valley wins 2018 Bronze Medal @EdisonAwards in the Makerspaces category: https://t.co/1dBbu0zChG . #SVCIRC #SVStandOut #SV1718 @Inventionland pic.twitter.com/X76qVHwdA3
— Seneca Valley (@Seneca_Valley) April 12, 2018
Named after Thomas Edison, the Edison Universe awards program honors innovations and innovators.
Assistant superintendent of elementary education Sean McCarty discusses the opportunities the center offers students in the district's segment.
The show also will introduce viewers to a planned "Park of the Future" theme park Davison is developing.
Anticipated to open within 5 to 10 years, the park is meant to inspire creativity through four worlds, according to the release: inspiration, creativity, innovation and production.
Details: inventionland.com and sciencechannel.com
Mary Pickels is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MaryPickels.
