Editing Newton's Apple (section)

{{short description|Television series}}
{{Other uses|Newton's apple (disambiguation){{!}}Newton's apple}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image              = Newton's Apple (1983-99) (title card).jpg
| caption            = The Newton's Apple title.
| runtime            = 30 minutes
| creator            = James Steinbach
| starring           = [[Ira Flatow]] (1983–1988)<br>David Heil (1988–1998)<br>Peggy Knapp (1986–1996)<br>[[SuChin Pak]] (1995–1998)<br>[[Dave Huddleston]] (1995–1998)<br>Brian Hackney (1995–1998)<br>Eileen Galindo (1996–1998)
| country            = United States
| company            = [[Twin Cities PBS|KTCA]]
| executive_producer = Richard Hudson
| producer           = Kristian Berg<br />Gary Leatherman<br />Kevin Williams<br />Leslie Kratz<br />Liz Schlick<br />Carrie Maloney<br />Cori Paulet<br />Kaye Zusmann<br />Jeffrey Nielsen<br />Doug Bolin<br />Lesley Goldman<br />Lynne Reeck
| opentheme          = "[[Kraftwerk (album)|Ruckzuck]]" by [[Kraftwerk]]
| location           = KTCA Studios<br />[[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
| channel            = [[PBS]] (October 15, 1983 – September 5, 1999) <br/> [[PBS Kids]] (September 6, 1999 – October 31, 1999)
| first_aired        = {{Start date|1983|10|15}}
| last_aired         = {{End date|1998|1|3}}
| num_episodes       = 195
}}

'''''Newton's Apple''''' was an American [[educational television]] program produced and developed by [[Twin Cities PBS|KTCA]] of [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul]], and distributed to [[PBS]] stations in the United States that ran from October 15, 1983,<ref name= "fun">{{cite news |last=Unger |first=Arthur |url= https://www.csmonitor.com/1983/1013/101306.html |title=Science program 'Newton's Apple' is fun, informative |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=October 13, 1983 |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> to January 3, 1998, with reruns continuing until October 31, 1999. The show's title was based on the legend of [[Isaac Newton]] sitting under a [[Isaac Newton's apple tree|tree]] and an apple falling near him{{em dash}}more popularly, on his head{{em dash}}prompting him to ponder what makes things fall, leading to the development of his theory of [[gravitation]] (an event often loosely described as him "discovering" gravity). The show was produced by [[Twin Cities PBS|Twin Cities Public Television]] (TPT).<ref name= "scigirls">{{cite news |last=Zahed |first=Ramin |url= http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/pbs-scigirls-announces-multi-platform-plans/ |title=PBS 'SciGirls' Announces Multi-platform Plans |work=[[Animation Magazine]] |date=August 27, 2012 |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> For most of the run, the show's theme song was ''Ruckzuck'' by [[Kraftwerk]], later remixed by Absolute Music. Earlier and later episodes of the show featured an original song.

[[Ira Flatow]] was the show's first host during the first five seasons and in the 6th season, he was replaced by David Heil, then assistant director of the [[Oregon Museum of Science and Industry]] (OMSI).<ref name= "science">{{cite news |last=Heffley |first=Lynne |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-06-ca-587-story.html |title='Newton's Apple': Science That Hits You in the Head |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 6, 1990 |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> In the 4th season, Peggy Knapp joined the show as a field reporter and later became the co-host in the 13th season.<ref name= "project">{{cite news |last=Mendoza |first=N. F. |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-25-tv-1206-story.html |title=PBS' Science Project : 'Newton's Apple' begins its 10th year of making learning also interesting |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 25, 1992 |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> The last three seasons were hosted by the team of Peggy Knapp, [[Dave Huddleston]], Brian Hackney, David Heil and [[SuChin Pak]]. In the 14th season, Peggy Knapp was replaced by actress and voiceover artist Eileen Galindo. An occasional short feature called "Science of the Rich and Famous" featured celebrities explaining a scientific principle or natural or physical phenomenon; for example, rock star [[Ted Nugent]] explained guitar feedback, Olympic gold medalist skater [[Scott Hamilton (figure skater)|Scott Hamilton]] demonstrated angular momentum in the context of a skater's spin, [[Monty Hall]] explained principles of [[probability]], and [[Betty White]] showed how cats purr.

''Newton's Apple'' won numerous national awards including the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] Science Journalism Award, the Parent's Choice Award, and the 1989 [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Children's Series.

A segment in the early years, titled "Newton's Lemons," used 1950s-era newsreels of a device that was considered "futuristic" at the time of its introduction but had long since been simply forgotten.

Quick clips from the series were also aired in between programming as "A Bite from ''Newton's Apple''" on many PBS stations.