Two young hosts from the Greater Toronto Area are the faces of a new TVOkids docuseries that takes children behind the scenes of Canadian technology, from air traffic control at Toronto Pearson to 3D printers that can make bones.

The Screen Team made its digital debut Oct. 9 on TVOkids platforms and premiered on television Oct. 10, according to the Toronto Guardian. The 20-episode series is aimed at viewers aged eight to 12.

From Stouffville and Burlington to Canada's tech labs

Hosts Leia Maharaj of Stouffville and Reid Almeida of Burlington travel to laboratories, data centres and research facilities across the country, exploring artificial intelligence, online misinformation, self-driving vehicles, deepfakes and recommendation algorithms, as well as tougher topics such as screen addiction, digital rights and online privacy.

The series was produced by Toronto-based Fifth Ground Entertainment. Creator Christine Mitchell, who taught technology at the university level, pitched the idea of adapting those concepts for younger audiences.

She's taught technology at a university level and figured the concepts could be adapted for younger kids,

executive producer Raj Panikkar told the Toronto Guardian. He said the series fills a gap in children's programming, noting technology is woven into nearly every part of kids' lives and they need to understand how the 'black box' works.

A stop at Toronto Pearson

The production worked with organizations including the University of Waterloo, York University, Sheridan College, Bell Canada, NAV CANADA and the University of Toronto, giving viewers a look at facilities rarely open to the public.

For Maharaj, a standout moment was visiting NAV CANADA and seeing how air traffic is managed at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

We even got to go into one of the control towers! It was so neat to see how the technology keeps track of all the planes in the sky and how humans use this information to keep people safe while traveling on those planes,

she told the Toronto Guardian. Almeida said the experience stuck with him too.

Leia and I walked right into an active room and the number of things happening at once just blew my mind,

he said. 'And it was not chaotic, or anything near that — it was calm and controlled.'

Other memorable visits included advanced 3D printing labs at the University of Waterloo, where Maharaj said she couldn't believe 'they can make body parts, like bones,' and a battery manufacturing facility, where Almeida was surprised to learn car and phone batteries are made almost entirely by robots.

Thinking critically about screens

The series also encourages kids to question what they see online. Maharaj said filming taught her to ask why information is being shared and to check multiple reliable sources before believing it, while Almeida came away seeing AI as a study aid rather than just a shortcut. 'It's like having your own personal tutor,' he said.

Panikkar said meeting researchers across Canada — at institutions including McGill University, Western University, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo — showed him how much technological work happens here, from 'AI godfather' Geoffrey Hinton on down.

The Screen Team is available on the TVOkids YouTube channel, website and mobile app.