This 12 part series adopts an investigative approach that helps children to recognise and understand the use of technology around them. Each 15 minute program explores one topic examining how different designs have been created to meet the demands of different users in varied situations. A narrator encourages young viewers to think about the things people have considered when designing technology to meet particular needs.

Two monster puppets, Dodly and Flyn, also tackle problems relating to topics, and often come up with some highly imaginative, and sometimes impractical, solutions. These segments reinforce the need to plan a design before making a product.

The programs also include children talking about their own designs and ideas and the decision they have made during the process.

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(ABC Online)

Date	Episode Information
Wednesday 23 July 10.00am	08. Musical Instruments Music may be the elixir of life, but just how do instruments make sounds? Spurred by Dodly’s mission to come up with sound effects for Flyn’s adventure story, we begin by looking at some common household objects that can be used to make sounds. Viewers are asked to guess which animals are being mimicked by the sounds of a didgeridoo being played. We sit in on a school band rehearsal and learn about design features of other wind instruments, as well as string and percussion instruments. Children demonstrate how careful design and imagination can turn recyclable materials into instruments worthy of a class performance. And Flyn’s initial enthusiasm for Dodly’s offer of sound effects is tested when it comes to the night of the Monster Story-Tellers Fair.
Wednesday 30 July 10.00am	09. Worm Farms
Wednesday 6 August 10.00am	10. Food Technology How do you design a meal that meets certain criteria? This program looks at the role recipes, ingredients, utensils and culinary flair all play when it comes to preparing food. We follow the methodical steps taken to make a chocolate cake and demonstrate the correct use of cooking utensils. The challenge of designing a healthy pizza has children coming up with some unusual topping combinations. They explain the steps they’re taking to prepare foods for their pizza production line. Meanwhile Dodly and Flyn have an appetite that needs satiating, too – but just how do you make caterpillar coat clippings curly?
Wednesday 13 August 10.00am	11. Cubby Houses The same basic rule applies to building a cubby as building a house – measure it three times, build it once. This program explores the use of measurement when designing something, and touches briefly on the concept of building to a scale. We visit an architect’s office and see the role of computers in modern building design. A school excursion to a cubby making business allows the children to investigate ideas for their own model cubbies. The cubby house builder answers children’s questions about the various designs he uses. Dodly also makes a cubby house – a real one – but was it wise to use sausages as measuring sticks?
Wednesday 20 August 10.00am	12. Sound Technology Technology used in the recording of sound is ever changing. In this program we begin with a familiar scene of sound recording – the telephone answering machine. From here we visit a post-audio studio to investigate the use of computers for adding recorded sounds to television programs. Children put on a school performance, complete with recorded sound effects, demonstrating the use of computer programs to manipulate sounds they make with their voices and musical instruments. Meanwhile, Dodly puts his writing and singing skills to the test by entering a song competition. He goes to quite a bit of trouble to record his entry on a compact disc – but will his efforts be rewarded?
Wednesday 27 August 10.00am	01. Bridges How often do we stop to take a good look at how a bridge is constructed? This program examines the different forms bridges take and explains some reasons for these differences, such as the nature of the terrain they traverse and the weight of the loads they carry. A school’s need for a pedestrian bridge over a busy road provides the central story for this program. We identify what makes bridges strong and stable, with reference to the building and joining materials used. Children then test their own model bridges using old counter weights and come up with some solutions for collapsed creations. Meanwhile puppets Dodly and Flyn tackle their own bridge challenge – how to walk their toy dinosaurs over the model railway line without them ending up under a steam train!
Wednesday 3 September 10.00am	02. Playgrounds We all like to play on playground equipment, but what makes them fun and safe? And how do those moving parts on seesaws, swings and flying foxes work? While Dodly goes off to design his dream playground, we visit others and take a close look at the materials used and how some parts work together as a system to provide movement. The program also examines some design features of playgrounds for special users such as children who are visually impaired or very young. As a group of excited and motivated children look forward to trying out their new school playground, we see their own designs and watch them make models of playground equipment.
Wednesday 10 September 10.00am	03. Headgear What do we wear on our heads and why do we wear it? Dodly and Flyn need headgear to wear on their caving adventure holiday, but what kind of design would be useful and safe? This program looks at all the different situations in which people wear headgear, from competing in cycling races to working as a welder or in a busy commercial kitchen. The relationship between design and function is emphasised by a conversation between two hat designers. We follow the progress of their creation, from rough sketches to final product. Meanwhile children prove that an effective sunhat can take many forms.
Wednesday 17 September 10.00am	04. Bags Where would we be without bags to help us carry things? In this program we learn how a well-designed and properly worn bag can make everything from carrying school books to picking fruit easier. We look at some reasons behind the choice of bag making materials and visit a plastic bag factory to see how tiny beads become bags. Children design and make bags to bring in something special from home, with some unusual items carried in for show-and-tell. Meanwhile Dodly makes a bag with specially designed pockets for taking their dirty clothes to the Laundromat. But has he used the right materials?
Wednesday 24 September 10.00am	05. Toys How do you design a toy for a baby? And what sort of toy would appeal to a child who can’t see very well? While Flyn embarks on a mission to make a new toy for a bored, bed-bound Dodly, we explore some criteria for designing toys for certain users. A visit to a wooden toy factory reveals the role of computer technology in modern toy design and making. And children let their imaginations loose on their own toy creations in scenes reminiscent of the Wacky Races. Flyn’s toy shows he, too, has a lively creative mind– but is his hand-made masterpiece capable of things beyond even his imagination?
Wednesday 15 October 10.00am	06. Food Containers Why do we put food into containers? And why are these containers all so different? The need to match the package to the product is explained and illustrated using a range of different foods. We visit several food production and packaging plants and see the care taken to ensure the products reach consumers intact. Children also design and make containers for biscuits to sell at their fund-raising stall. Their creations show that there’s no shortage of ways to box biscuits! Meanwhile, Flyn is busy making Dodly a lunchbox – but has Dodly really understood the need to put food in a proper container?
Wednesday 22 October 10.00am	07. Boats What keeps a boat afloat and what role does its shape play in helping it to move? The quest to answer these questions leads us to investigate a range of possible boat building materials, including fibreglass, which we see sprayed into a mould then removed as a hardened shell. Simple graphics help to explain the concept of a streamlined shape and how it eases a boat’s passage through the water. The program demonstrates different ways to waterproof a boat, including techniques used on Aboriginal bark canoes. Children design and make their own model sail boats to meet a race challenge – can they make it to the volcanic island? Meanwhile Dodly moulds a boat from a lump of plasticine – but what is he going to use it for?
Wednesday 29 October 10.00am	08. Musical Instruments (Repeat)
Wednesday 5 November 10.00am	09. Worm Farms (Repeat)
Wednesday 12 November 10.00am	10. Food Technology (Repeat) How do you design a meal that meets certain criteria? This program looks at the role recipes, ingredients, utensils and culinary flair all play when it comes to preparing food. We follow the methodical steps taken to make a chocolate cake and demonstrate the correct use of cooking utensils. The challenge of designing a healthy pizza has children coming up with some unusual topping combinations. They explain the steps they’re taking to prepare foods for their pizza production line. Meanwhile Dodly and Flyn have an appetite that needs satiating, too – but just how do you make caterpillar coat clippings curly?
Wednesday 19 November 10.00am	11. Cubby Houses (Repeat)
Wednesday 26 November 10.00am	12. Sound Technology (Repeat)