On this week’s episode of Florida Road Trip, viewers will travel across the state to discover the interesting stories of Florida’s inventors & innovators. From the space coast to the panhandle, this edition will give viewers a unique perspective into the great minds of people who have improved our quality of life in powerful ways.
“This episode was fun to film because we really got a chance to see the inventions that are tied to Florida," said Heather Bailey, Executive Producer of WUCF’s Florida Road Trip. “But what I found really fascinating were the back stories behind these inventions. Many of the inventors spoke about looking for solutions to something else, which led to their discoveries.”
On this edition of Florida Road Trip, viewers learn about the origins of refrigeration, wifi, and one of the most licensed technologies for NASA. Viewers will get the chance to walk through the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in Tampa. Additionally, Godlove will explore why Gatorade was made and why the “father” of air conditioning (Dr. John Gorrie) invented the life-changing tool to begin with.
“It makes me proud to learn about the inventors and innovations that have come out of our state,” said Allison Godlove, host of Florida Road Trip. “And thank goodness for Dr. Gorrie of Apalachicola, the man considered the father of air conditioning! Can you imagine a Florida summer without air conditioning?”
Florida Road Trip: Inventors airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on WUCF TV,wucf.org and thePBS app. WUCF Passport members will also get early access, starting Thursday at 8 p.m. to next week’s episode,Florida Road Trip: Miami.
Learn more about the show atfloridaroadtrip.org.
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Funding Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About WUCF TV
WUCF TV is the sole-service PBS member station for the nearly 4 million Central Floridians across nine counties. WUCF is Central Florida’s storyteller, encouraging curiosity and learning through compelling content and community engagement. WUCF produces award-winning local content like “Florida Road Trip,” which explores Florida through history, people and culture. WUCF also serves Florida’s youngest citizens, offering hours of PBS Kids content on-air, online and in the classroom, leading the state in usage for PBS LearningMedia. Throughout its ten-year history, WUCF has engaged with over 1.5 million people across Central Florida at in-person events, and over 30 million people online through virtual events and streaming content. The station is community-supported public broadcasting from the University of Central Florida. Learn more at http://wucf.org/.
