• Air date: 07 Jan '01 6 episodes
      Popular Mechanics for Kids is an educational Canadian television series based on Popular Mechanics magazine. It was notable for starting the careers of both Elisha Cuthbert and Jay Baruchel. The show's purpose was to teach viewers how things work. It was awarded the Parents Choice Award in 2003, and was nominated for the Gemini Awards. The series aired from 1997 to 2001, and re-runs of the show continued to air on many channels until 2008. It aired on BBC Kids and Discovery Kids until December 31, 2009. After the closure of Discovery Kids Canada, BBC Kids stopped airing re-runs in all countries except Canada. The reruns on BBC Kids in Canada ended on May 14, 2011. As of 2013 re-runs of the show continue to air on Knowledge Network. Along with Cuthbert and Baruchel, the cast included Charles Powell nicknamed "Charlie" for the series, Tyler Kyte, and eventually Vanessa Lengies. The show was filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec, and is currently distributed on VHS / DVD by Koch Vision.
  • List of Episodes (6)
    • 1. X-Treeme Rides

      07 Jan '01
      Tyler starts us off when he takes to the skies in a powered parachute plane and then he gets ready for his next adventure on a mountain in Virginia. To play Street Luge, Tyler must wear protective body gear and lay down on a luge board just two inches from the pavement. The speed of the descent depends on the steepness of the hill. Vanessa receives a kite skiing lesson in Oregon, which is similar to water skiing, but the kite stands in for a boat, a kite skier can reach speeds of up to 20 mph
    • 2. Fighting Disaster

      14 Jan '01
      Vanessa travels to Oregon to create a real landslide, and she learns that scientists uses a unique outdoor laboratory to find out more about the patterns of landslides and how to prevent them from destroying the environment. Vanessa down to the coast of Los Angeles where she trains with the Collapse Rescue Team (a group of scientists who save people from such emergencies as collapsed buildings, stalled elevators and vehicle accidents). Tyler gets a chance to see how real life disasters are dea
    • 3. Escape

      21 Jan '01
      Vanessa catches up with Dean Gunnerson, one of the most famous escape artists in the world while Tyler visits a cockpit of an underwater helicopter and finds out what it's like to be trapped inside something that is slowly sinking to the bottom of a deep pool. He arrives later in Delaware and tries out a life chute designed to rescue people from high rise fires while Charlie shares a few tips on the art of escape.
    • 4. Horseplay

      28 Jan '01
      Popular Mechanics for Kids goes behind-the-scenes at the world renowned Strathcona Mounted Troop (the only non-British Cavalry Unit in history to mount the Queen's Life Guard at Buckingham Palace). Tyler participates in the Musical Ride and finds out how the twenty horses are taught to obey the riders instructions, and after, he prepares to enter the world of jousting where he will learn about the history of the sport. He will sport a ten-foot lance, and fit inside a full suit of armour and ri
    • 5. In Deep Water

      05 Feb '01
      Tyler goes underwaterat the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California where he uses a remote-control operated vehicle called a ROV and explores the largest submarine canyon on the continent's West Coast. With deep sea depths reaching more than 10,000 feet, Tyler assists scientists in the search for never-before-seen life forms at the bottom of the ocean floor. Tyler receives a diving suit that weighs a full ton, and after securing his oxygen supply, he accompanies underwater welders
    • 6. On The Front Lines

      12 Feb '01
      Tyler joins the Skyhawks, which is Canada's elite parachute team and he gets ready to jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet above the ground. Strapped to the back of one of the Skyhawk jumpers, he will be able to see exactly how these tandem jumps are orchestrated and the special skill it takes to execute such a daring adventure. These parachutists are trained to land these dangerous jumps to get medical personnel into remote areas where help is needed such as avalanches, floods, plane crashes an w