A celebration of South Africa’s unique natural heritage, Puppet Planet uses puppetry, music and dance to tell science-related stories – with nine-year-old Thandi and her dog, Ogies, at the helm. Thandi lives on a farm in the Karoo; her father is isiXhosa-speaking, her mother is Afrikaans-speaking, and her teacher is English-speaking – and Ogies, her dog, is magical. Thandi has a satchel, a magnifying glass and a butterfly net, and Thandi, along with Ogies, goes exploring in the wild Karoo near their house.

It’s here that this dynamic duo discover the fossil of an ancient mammal relative called Lystrosaurus. Ogies uses her magical powers and takes them 250 million years back in time – when the Lystrosaurus roamed the Karoo. As Thandi and Ogies travel through time, they meet strange animals and plants, and find out all about climate change, fossils and pre-historic life. While the first episode of Puppet Planet focuses on fossils from the Great Karoo, the creators are actively developing show themes on other classic South African fossil deposits, marine science and ocean conservation, climate change, mass extinctions, and sustainability.