| Sky Trackers | |
|---|---|
 Sky Trackers (VHS cover) | |
| Created by | Jeff Peck Tony Morphett |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | Petra Yared Zbych Trofimiuk Emily-Jane Romig Steve Jacobs Anna-Maria Monticelli |
| Composer | Cezary Skubiszewski |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Patricia Edgar |
| Producers | Margot McDonald Patricia Edgar |
| Cinematography | David Foreman Nino Martinetti |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | ACTF Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 19 March – 10 September 1995 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Sky Trackers is a 26-part science-based[1] Australian children's television adventure series, and a stand-alone children's television movie of the same name, which feature the adventures of children who live at space-tracking stations in Australia. Both series and telemovie were created by Jeff Peck and Tony Morphett, and executive-produced by Patricia Edgar on behalf of the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF).
The 1990 telemovie was shot at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. The subsequent TV series, which had an entirely new cast fronted by Petra Yared and Zbych Trofimiuk, was shot at the Australia Telescope Compact Array[2] in the New South Wales outback near Narrabri. The series aired in Australia in 1995, on the Seven Network. Although the series and movie have characters in common, they do not share continuity.
Sky Trackers the series grew from a request by Australia's federal science agency (the CSIRO) to Patricia Edgar, the then director of the ACTF, to create a program that would help attract girls towards careers in science.[3][4] The resultant series aimed to popularise science for children through drama, and to excite them about its opportunities and its potential for future career choices,[5] and at the same time demystify the work and working conditions of scientists.[3]
Sky Trackers the series won the Australia Film Institute's Award for Best Children's Drama Series (1994), and Zbych Trofimiuk picked up its award for Young Actor. Sky Trackers also won at the Cairo International Film Festival for Children (1994) and the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards (1995).[1]
- ^ a b Edgar, Patricia, 1937- (2006). Bloodbath : a memoir of Australian television. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 0522852815. OCLC 224730166.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Australia Telescope Compact Array – Fast Facts" (PDF). CSIRO. February 2013.
- ^ a b Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 50, p. 1-4. ISSN 0813-3727.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 48, p. 1-4. ISSN 0813-3727.