Darwin and Newts is an adventure show for curious kids who love to figure out how stuff works!

Made for a target audience of children 3-6 years old, encouraging exploration, discovery, adventure and science.

We travelled New Zealand visiting an array of preschools and kindergartens, as well as carrying out parent surveys and the results motivated us to make a show for children that would increase awareness and understanding of early learning science concepts and encourage outdoor play.

Darwin and Newts are brother and sister who, through their fantastic escapades, discover and experiment with early learning science and engineering principles, while exploring the natural wonders of their incredible home in New Zealand. Joining the siblings is their friendly neighbour Hēni and her cheeky pet Kea, Wapiti the big wise deer and what show would be complete without a grumpy frog called Burpee and his girlfriend Croakette!

Outdoor play, hands on experimentation and FUN are at the forefront as Darwin and Newts use their trike, zipline and waka to navigate their world, as they face each new challenge with imagination, perseverance and lots and lots of giggles.

With a Play+Learn companion App, discover Darwin and Newts's treehouse and backyard with games inspired by the show.

Plus - this Website is full of fun-at-home crafts and science creations, Darwin and Newts will keep your little adventurers engaged and entertained for hours on end!

Find even more fun to do with our Socials: Darwin and Newts Facebook and Instagram are safe social realms for parents to share, find tips for calm and serenity, enjoy a laugh and discover more inspiring activities to do at home.

Janine Morrell-Gunn and Emma Gribble have created a range of children’s programmes in New Zealand.

Janine is the owner of WhitebaitMedia and was  former TVNZ Head of Children’s programming. Emma has spent two decades making shows for children aged 3-16 years old. From working on and producing for many years ‘What Now’ a live 2 hour kids show, to making over 850 half hour episodes of the popular youth show ‘The Erin Simpson show’ across 5 years.

Janine and Emma are both mothers. Janine has four children aged between 27 and 15, and Emma has a 5 and a 2 year old.

During the production of ‘Darwin and Newts’ Emma found out she had cancer while she was 13 weeks pregnant with her son. Seven months of chemotherapy with a baby in her tummy was scary but both Emma and her now 2 year old son are both well and happy and she is excited about now venturing into making Season 2.

‘Darwin and Newts’ is the show they have created from extensive research with both children and parents. The show has been created to motivate kids to move away from their screens and experiment with science and make crafts after viewing episodes. As well as the 40 x 11 minute episodes the show has a Mobile App and 80 parent and child tutorial videos based around science, nature and crafting for parents and kids to do together.