Popular Mechanics for Kids

Who says school is boring? Not co-hosts Tyler and Vanessa, once they visit some of the most unusual schools around. There's the school where Tyler learns the tricks to underwater acting. Or one where Vanessa learns to bodyguard the rich and famous. At Hummer school she learns care and maintenance of giant vehicles.

A dream come true! Tyler and Elisha visit the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Elisha learns about the 220 computers that run the Incredible Hulk Coaster, is shot out of a tunnel and experiences zero gravity. Tyler walks through a 40-foot water vortex and sees how technology runs the 13-foot high dinosaurs on Jurassic Park Island.

PMK turns ghost hunters as Tyler tracks down the spirits haunting the USS Hornet ship. After that he tries to extract the poisonous venom from a tarantula for scientific research. And Vanessa gets made up as a zombie at the Thrillvania Theme Park in Texas to help frighten kids – but it’s all in good, scary fun.

Co-hosts Tyler and Vanessa visit with some of the oceans’ biggest creatures. Tyler goes to the Human Dolphin Institute to swim in open water with these amazing creatures. At Sea World he bottle-feeds an orphan manatee and releases a recovered turtle to the ocean. Vanessa tries to extract the blubber from a humpback whale to learn about its eating habits.

It’s a dirty job, but … Vanessa and Tyler experience some really filthy work. Vanessa searches a New York City garbage dump for something she lost. Tyler gets mucky taking care of rhinos as a zookeeper. And Vanessa visits a fish-gutting factory to see how fish gets from the ocean to our dinner tables. What a stinker!

Our co-hosts learn the true meaning of the word slimy. Elisha hunts wood frogs, takes them back to a lab where she freezes them, then thaws them and brings them back to life. Tyler accepts shipment of 300,000 worms at a huge bait farm. Vanessa meets, weighs and feeds Neah, a giant octopus. And Charlie teaches us how to make slime.

Our co-hosts learn the ins-and-outs of the human body – the hard way. Elisha break dances to discover if she can do upside down head spins. Vanessa learns to set a human bone and Tyler enters a swimming/biking/running triathlon against some of the world’s best athletes (can he finish?). Charlie shows us how to walk on hot coals and break wood with bare hands.

Our co-hosts are in for some two-wheeled fun as they learn about all kinds of bikes and cycles. Tyler rides the Lean and Slide Bike, built to whip around corners at record speeds without crashing. Vanessa is a motorcycle daredevil at a racetrack and rides on a souped-up bike as it does super-wheelies. And Charlie shows us how to make a bike sound like a motorcycle.

Elisha and Tyler fly high in some of the world’s most exciting flying machines. Elisha flies a blimp over the city’s skyline. Tyler trains in paragliding and jumps off the Niagara escarpment. At Edwards Air force Base he learns about the SR-71 Blackbird high-speed research plane and watches trained pilots react to emergency situations in a flight simulator.

Favorite adventures, most exciting moments, most exotic places. This is a compilation of the best and most fascinating episodes with co-hosts Elisha, Tyler and Vanessa as they learn and experience, first-hand, how things really work.

There’s a lot going on under the surface in this episode. Elisha travels more than a mile under the earth in search of gold – and finds it! Then Tyler learns if the slimy stuff on cave walls is useful in medical research. Afterwards he travels to the world’s only underwater laboratory to unlock the ocean’s great secrets.

Cool! Vanessa travels to Hollywood to learn how the pros turn a summer movie set into a winter wonderland. She watches an ice sculptor carve a racecar out of ice blocks. Elisha drives a Zamboni machine and gets an ice rink ready for a hockey game. Tyler visits NASA’s Ice Research Tunnel where they study how to make winter air flights safer by avoiding ice build-up.

Vanessa travels to Sand Mountain in Nevada where she rides a dune buggy and heads down the largest sand dune in the U.S. on a sand board. Next she goes on a snake hunt and learns whether the snake she catches is poisonous. Tyler co-pilots a truck modified for off-road desert racing. And Charlie teaches us survival techniques for desert climates.

Tyler learns about the features of vehicles built to protect world leaders. He tests bullet-proof glass, tries to drill through the armor. Next he uses safety harnesses and ropes to scale down the side of a tall building. Elisha prepares a family of crash-test dummies for a car crash at 40 mph. Charlie teaches us how to build a portable burglar alarm.

Tyler goes on a real-life treasure hunt as he dives with underwater archaeologists when they find a buried ship loaded with pirate booty. He learns the technique of staging sword fights and goes up against a professional stage combatant. Elisha sets off an explosion in a gold mine to break up gold-filled rocks and Charlie shows us how a cannonball flies.

Our co-hosts travel to Southern California to train with the Navy Seals, the elite military maritime unit trained to take on the highest-risk missions. They learn how much physical and mental training is necessary to become a Seal, and the high-tech equipment and strategies they use to launch attacks and conduct search-and-rescue missions.

Our co-hosts meet up with some of the world’s most dangerous animals. Tyler walks and feeds tigers at a sanctuary caring for these endangered creatures. Vanessa learns how scientists deal with hungry polar bears that leave their habitats and wander into cities in search of food. And Elisha feeds a Komodo Dragon --one of the most dangerous animals on earth!

At NASA’S Deep Space Network Control Headquarters Tyler learns how to lock the dish and antenna in place so it can receive messages from a spacecraft more than 90 million miles away. Vanessa visits the home of the SPAWN comic book and watches as the artist create the panels for this popular superhero. And Charlie teaches us how to defy gravity!

PMK brings you a hit parade of favorite adventures. Created for curious minds of all ages, Elisha, Tyler, Vanessa and Charlie are always at the center of the action, meeting new people, traveling to exciting places and discovering how and why things really work.

Out of this world! Vanessa travels to the NASA laboratory to enter a world of virtual reality. She learns how space stations are built and the way astronauts train for actual missions. Tyler tests his skills in a space lifeboat designed to bring sick astronauts back to earth and rides in a vomit van specially designed for emergency situations.

Wild, wonderful – and wet! Our co-hosts travel to Niagara Falls and get soaked. Tyler goes behind the scenes to learn how the massive falls are used to create electricity. Afterwards he puts on a wet suit to accompany an emergency oil spill team. Elisha shoots down rocky rapids in an ultra-modern, indestructible raft.

Our hosts run away and join the circus – for the day. They learn how much work goes into engineering a mega-stadium event. Elisha trains with the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, discovering how much effort is needed to make their spine-tingling acrobatics look so easy. She even gets to perform before a large audience. Good luck!