Subjects: Geography

Our hosts learn about the Great Lakes impact on our country. They start at the gateway to the Great Lakes – Kingston, Ontario – where they visit with a girl living on a houseboat. Then Eldon puts Jamie and Idee through the wringer as he holds the Bucket O’Fun Game Show to test their knowledge of the Great Lakes. Then they head to the National Water Research Institute in Hamilton, Ontario to find out why the lakes might be getting polluted.

Our hosts check out Canada’s incredible renewable resources – from solar energy powered homes to Toronto’s wind powered communities to the incredible hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls. They explore an incredible eco-home in Orangeville, Ontario, discover North America’s first urban wind turbine in Toronto, Ontario and hop on the Maid of the Mist to check out one of the most powerful hydroelectric water falls in the world.

We explore the rich culture, lifestyle and landscape of this small inlet. We meet up with a young Inuit student who talks about how she is keeping the Inuktituk language alive: through hip-hop music. Then local historian, Theresie Tungalik, takes us out to the Meliadine Territorial Park where an archeological site provides evidence of how the ancient Thule people lived. Theresie explains that in a lot of ways, life has not changed dramatically over thousands of years. Finally a visit to the Matchbox Gallery gives Jamie and Jennifer a chance to learn about the art of traditional ceramics. In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains the difference between the North Pole and the North Magnetic pole.

It’s high Polar Bear time in Churchill, Manitoba. These incredible animals are waiting for the ice to freeze on Hudson Bay before heading out in search of food. We hang out with Kyle Wolkoski, who helps out at his family’s Polar-buggy business. We go on Bear Patrol and visit the Polar Bar Jail with Manitoba conservation officer Pat Cronin to learn about what the town does to live with the bears this time of year. In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains how salt effects the freezing point of water.

We explore Manitoba’s capital of Winnipeg with curling champ Elisabeth Peters, before heading to the rink for a lesson in how the game is played. At the Prairie Storm Prediction Centre, we learn why Manitoba has such extreme weather and what can be done to predict what’s coming. Just outside Winnipeg, the Mariash Quarry provides a peak at Manitoba’s ancient history as seen through layers of fossils deposited over 440 million years ago! In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains how tornadoes are formed.

Our hosts pitch their tents on the grounds of one of the largest rodeos in the world – or the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, as it’s also known – the Calgary Stampede. They check out the Rodeo’s Chuck Wagon Village where they experience the thrill of chuck wagon racing. Then they set up camp at Indian Village where they learn about the history and customs of the Treaty Seven. Then they head up north of the stampede to the Composting Technology Centre at the Olds College Centre for Innovation to find out what happens to all the rodeo leftovers.

Our hosts discover the spills and thrills of white-water rafting on the Smoky River as they head to Jasper to explore the Canadian Rockies. They join up with a grizzly bear researcher and head off by helicopter to track grizzly’s in Jasper National Park of Canada. Then they climb aboard a Snocoach and head to the middle of one of Canada’s largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle – the Columbia Icefield glaciers.

What do bats, canyons, bushy tailed rats, stalagmite, oil and minerals all have in common? They are found under Canada’s land and water surface, and that’s exactly where our hosts are headed. From burrowing animals of Canada’s desert to the caves of the Rockies to the mines of Sudbury – CG Kids checks it out.

Our hosts hop onto the National Coast Guard’s chopper over to the Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia. They visit one of Canada’s last remaining manned lighthouse stations and learn about life on a remote island. Then they head south to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site where they learn about the Haida Gwaii and the tradition of making bentwood boxes.

Eldon has deleted most of Jay’s park information so Jamie and Idee head off to learn more about parks in Canada. They check out a small urban skatepark in Vancouver, Canada’s only fenced in park in Alberta and a marine park in Quebec. What is a park? Why are they created? What do they protect and why? Our hosts find out why areas are designated as parks.