Look Kool

Hamza thinks finding his way around is easy…until his smart phone breaks. Uh oh. Now he needs to use maps to get where he’s going. Along the way, Hamza forms a marching band and gets travel tips from a gargoyle. There’s even a pirate with a treasure map.

Hamza literally bends over backwards in this episode – in a backbend – to find out why arches are so strong. An arch is a curved shape that spans a space using only gravity to stay up. To find out how it works, we’ll meet a medieval mason, build an arch out of cheese, and sing the praises of buttresses.

Hamza is determined to find out why so many instruments – like flutes, horns, and organs -- are cylinders. What’s so musical about that shape? To find out, we’ll make instruments out of recycled junk, play music with water glasses, and meet “Bubba” Bach, the inventor of flatulent-sounding novelty horns.

Hamza notices a pyramid of oranges at the grocery store and makes one in the studio. This shape is incredibly sturdy but Hamza wonders why the fruit on the bottom doesn’t get squished. Pyramids are very hard to knock over unless you have a naughty Koolkatt in the room. To find out why pyramids are so strong, we arm-wrestle with a crocodile, meet a mummy architect who thinks he’s a rock star, and put a cheerleading stunt to the test.

It’s Hamza’s birthday, and cones are the life of the party! Conical birthday hats and ice cream cones are only the beginning. Hamza realizes that a cone is like a spinning right triangle and sends the Investigators out on a quest to find things that are cone-shaped. Along the way, we meet a wizard, hunt for treasure, and even do a chicken dance!

It’s cold today, so Hamza snuggles by the window with his quilt. Hamza likes to do crafts on “indoor” days like this, and decides to replicate the patterns in his quilt with geometric shapes. Today on LOOK KOOL, we’ll also cut a rug, meet a polymath, eat a yummy geometric cake, and get the “buzz” on tiling direct from bees.

While doing “geometry experiments” on paper airplanes, Hamza notices that the shape of things makes a lot of difference when they move through the air. To find out why some shapes go through air better than others, the gang on LOOK KOOL, is going to make a rocket with an astronaut, put bicycle “test pilots” to the test, and meet a rocket scientist who swims better than he walks. Sneaky Koolkatt also figures out a way to beat a racecar across the finish line.

Koolkatt tries to hypnotize Hamza with spirals. Why are spirals so captivating? To find out, Hamza meets a rebellious snail, shakes his crazy helix hair, and finds the biggest spiral around, The Milky Way galaxy.

Hamza is looking at and through lenses today on his quest for a perfect pair of glasses. He wants glasses that will let him see all the way to Mars as well as see microscopic stuff. To find out how lenses work, the gang will read a secret message, go inside a camera, get close to an upside-down dinosaur, and talk to a very fancy krill. Amidst all the excitement, Koolkatt’s having trouble squeezing in a katnap.

Hamza has a very special guest host today… Benny, the Egg. Why is an egg so strong when Hamza squeezes it, but so smashable if he drops it? Because it’s a dome on both the top and bottom! Today’s LOOK KOOL is about Domes. To put domes to the test, our challengers walk on eggshells, Hamza meets an ancient dome architect, and a little chick finally gets his “big breakthrough.” Koolkatt is proud of his dome too…his head!

Today, Hamza makes a special entrance to introduce one of his personal favorite shapes: the cube. A cube is sort of like a square but has a bigger personality…just like Hamza! In this episode, we’ll meet cubist Pablo Picasso, find out why ice cubes make an awful necklace, and face the legendary Hound of Doom in a quest to make giant cubes. Koolkatt joins in the fun, finding a cube in the studio that is right under Hamza’s nose…and foot.

Hamza can’t move his desk because Koolkatt left a wedge shaped mouse toy under the wheel. To find out why wedges are one of the most important tools ever invented, our LOOK KOOL gang splits logs like lumberjacks, meets a legendary cheese-cutter, and channels their inner cave man.

Hamza tries to juggle a football, a baseball, and a hockey puck but quickly loses control. Each one of these sports projectiles has a different size and shape. To find out why they’re all so different, the LOOK KOOL crew will meet a human cannonball, get the skinny on Frisbees, and see who will be crowned the LOOK KOOL triathlon champions. Koolkatt mischievously challenges Hamza to juggle with 3 bowling balls. Very funny Koolkatt!

Hamza has an irresistible urge to straighten two framed portraits, to make them match. How come? Because the human brain loves symmetry! To find out about symmetry, and why people love it so much, we’ll draw giant mystery pictures, get crazy with snowflakes and meet the famous Mona Lisa herself! Even Koolkatt gets in on the act by demonstrating rotational symmetry.

Hamza wonders why so many structures, like bridges, are made of interlocking triangles. To find out why, Hamza interviews a bridge troll, challengers create their own bridges to cross “shark infested” waters, and the Investigators test the strength of a spaghetti bridge. Meanwhile, Koolkatt shows off by creating hundreds of triangular origami cats for Hamza to tidy.