The Space Place
Encyclopedia
Release in mid-2008, The Space Place is an animated children's television series created by Catalyst Video. It is made up of 12 five-minute-long programmes
aimed at autistic
children in the 2 - 8 year-old bracket, the core being children with an educational age of 4 - 7 years.
The aim of the series is to convey the meaning of various facial expressions to the target audience, by using a number of space vehicles with faces. The educational merit of this method of educating autistic
children was already proven to be highly successful the previous year with the release of The Transporters
in 2007 - also produced and animated by Catalyst. The Transporters proved so successful that it was nominated for a BAFTA Award. The educational consultant on the series was Dr Janine Spencer, developmental psychologist, specialising in children with autism.
The Space Place storylines centre around eight central characters, all space vehicles from a lunar display in a museum
gallery. All have their own personalities, function and behaviours.
Voiced by Rob Rackshaw, each episode contains linear storylines with clear and uncomplicated language and obvious visual and contextual clues for the motions being expressed. Each story highlights one specific emotion while allowing for secondary emotions to be seen.
display where all the space vehicles are based and where they begin their adventures. It is situated in one corner of the gallery
and is a model of an area of the moon
’s surface with crater
s and rocks, against an outer-space background. This display, along with several other displays, is in a roped off area to prevent museum visitors from touching the vehicles.
Mars
Situated across the gallery from the lunar display is a model of an area of the surface of Mars with craters and rocks, against a background of the atmosphere of Mars. This gives the opportunity for another ‘base’ for the Space vehicles to avoid each episode looking too similar to the others. This display, along with several other displays, is in a roped off area to prevent museum visitors from touching the vehicles.
Orrery
There is an antique model of the planets in another corner of the gallery which may be visited by the characters over the course of the series. The orrery is of brass construction and the planets and their moons rotate within it.
radio telescope stands at one side of the Space gallery.
Telescope
There is a model of a space station of the future in the opposite corner of the gallery from the lunar display.
.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
aimed at autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
children in the 2 - 8 year-old bracket, the core being children with an educational age of 4 - 7 years.
The aim of the series is to convey the meaning of various facial expressions to the target audience, by using a number of space vehicles with faces. The educational merit of this method of educating autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
children was already proven to be highly successful the previous year with the release of The Transporters
The Transporters
The Transporters is an animation series produced by Catalyst Pictures Ltd designed to help children with autism aged between two to eight years old recognise and understand emotions....
in 2007 - also produced and animated by Catalyst. The Transporters proved so successful that it was nominated for a BAFTA Award. The educational consultant on the series was Dr Janine Spencer, developmental psychologist, specialising in children with autism.
The Space Place storylines centre around eight central characters, all space vehicles from a lunar display in a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
gallery. All have their own personalities, function and behaviours.
Voiced by Rob Rackshaw, each episode contains linear storylines with clear and uncomplicated language and obvious visual and contextual clues for the motions being expressed. Each story highlights one specific emotion while allowing for secondary emotions to be seen.
| Key Emotions | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Grumpy Grumpy may refer to:* Grumpy Old Men * Grumpier Old Men* Grumpy Old Men * Grumpy Old Women* The Grumpy Old Bookman* Mr. Grumpy* Grumpy, a character from the 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... |
Loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant feeling in which a person feels a strong sense of emptiness and solitude resulting from inadequate levels of social relationships. However, it is a subjective experience... Suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and... |
| Secondary Emotions | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Pride Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris... |
Regret (emotion) Regret is a negative conscious and emotional reaction to personal past acts and behaviors. Regret is often expressed by the term "sorry." Regret is often felt when someone feels sadness, shame, embarrassment, depression, annoyance or guilt after committing an action or actions that the person later... |
Characters
- Bernard - Space Telescope, British, 60s, Male, Bernard is getting old and a bit rusty but the others look up to him as he remembers the early days of space exploration and has seen such a lot of changes in the Space Place.
- Nancy - Lunar LanderLunar LanderLunar Lander is the name of several video games. In all variations of the game, the player must portion a limited amount of fuel to land on the moon without crashing...
, Australian, 20s, Female, Nancy is lively and outgoing, the life and soul of the party, keeping the others cheerful even when they are down. She loves to fix things with her mechanical arm. - Julie - Moon Buggy, Canadian, Teenager, Female, Julie is young and impetuous and loves driving about the lunar landscape, in and out of the craters. The bumpier the ride, the more she likes it!
- Rakesh - RoverRover (space exploration)A rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots...
, Indian, Teenager, Male, Rakesh is always collecting rocks. He has a huge collection of rocks which he is very proud of. - Philippe - SatelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
, Indian, Teenager, Male, Rakesh is always collecting rocks. He has a huge collection of rocks which he is very proud of. - Neil - ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
, American, 30s, Male, Neil is straightforward and sensible and likes to learn. He is usually solid and reliable. - Yuri - Sputnik, Russian, 50s, Male, Yuri is a bit of a loner and the others don’t always include him in their adventures, but he has a heart of gold.
- Chen - Tourist SpaceshipSpace tourismSpace Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
, Chinese, 20s, Male, Chen is trendy and likes to have all the latest gadgets. He gives off an air of self-confidence but a lot of it is bravado.
Lunar Landscape
This is the museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
display where all the space vehicles are based and where they begin their adventures. It is situated in one corner of the gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
and is a model of an area of the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
’s surface with crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
s and rocks, against an outer-space background. This display, along with several other displays, is in a roped off area to prevent museum visitors from touching the vehicles.
MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
Landscape
Situated across the gallery from the lunar display is a model of an area of the surface of Mars with craters and rocks, against a background of the atmosphere of Mars. This gives the opportunity for another ‘base’ for the Space vehicles to avoid each episode looking too similar to the others. This display, along with several other displays, is in a roped off area to prevent museum visitors from touching the vehicles.OrreryOrreryAn orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System in a heliocentric model. Though the Greeks had working planetaria, the first orrery that was a planetarium of the modern era was produced in 1704, and one was presented...
There is an antique model of the planets in another corner of the gallery which may be visited by the characters over the course of the series. The orrery is of brass construction and the planets and their moons rotate within it.Jodrell Bank Display
A model of the Jodrell BankJodrell Bank
The Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...
radio telescope stands at one side of the Space gallery.
Space Port
There is a model of a space station of the future in the opposite corner of the gallery from the lunar display.TelescopeTelescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
"Ride"
There is a model of a space station of the future in the opposite corner of the gallery from the lunar display.Episodes
- Let's All Be Happy
- Cheer Up, Bernard
- Where Are My Rocks?
- When The Lights Went Out
- Nancy to the Rescue
- Julie's Stunt Show
- What's That Awful Noise
- Boring, Boring, Boring!
- Arggh That Hurts!
- I'm Very Fond Of That
- The Mysterious Parcel
- The Space Team Picnic
Other media
The Space Place DVD is intended to be sold as part of an educational package, including interactive games, cards and toys to educate young children, particularly those on the autistic spectrumAutism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.