Eugene Lang Faculty Member Davida Smyth Lends Her Expertise to “The Big Fib”
Davida Smyth, associate professor of natural sciences in the Interdisciplinary Science program at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, was the “real” expert on an episode of the Disney+ show The Big Fib. In this children’s game show, two adults claim to be experts on a topic and the kid contestant has to try to figure out which one is telling “the big fib.”
Disney describes the show as “big fun with a mission,” and brings in experts on various topics like jellyfish, killer plants and germs — Smyth’s specialty — to share fascinating facts with the show’s young audience. These experts face off against practiced liars, challenging the kid contestants to sift through fact and fiction, using visual clues, props, and rapid-fire questioning to try to uncover who’s the expert, and who’s fibbing.
For Smyth, this was a wonderful opportunity to share her love of science and fantastic facts about bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and protozoa with a young audience. “‘The show is an opportunity for children to get up close with experts and actors to try and figure out who is the real deal. It’s as much about the content as it is about misconceptions about what an expert looks and sounds like … it was such a fun experience!”