Parents' Guide to

Mystery Hunters

By Lucy Maher, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Entertaining newsmagazine to delight youngsters.

TV Syndicated Educational 2002
Mystery Hunters Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Aria--is momma to seven ♥
Aria--is momma to seven ♥ Parent of 3, 7, 9, 13, 15 and 15-year-old
August 21, 2010
age 6+
My children and I love this show. We all watch it. However, since we live in the US, it only comes on Discovery Kids. And they only play a few episodes. I looked on the internet and saw that they have well over 50, but on Discovery Kids, they only play about 15 and then cycle them over again.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
beckyhall
beckyhall Parent of 7, 11 and 14-year-old
July 18, 2010
age 7+
love it!

This title has:

Too much violence
Educational value
Great role models
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In Discovery Kids' MYSTERY HUNTERS, viewers are taken on a half-hour trip behind the scenes of the world's most thrilling paranormal riddles. The documentary-like show is hosted by teens Araya Mengesha and Christina Broccolini, who travel around the world interviewing experts and reenacting scenes in an attempt to solve years-old mysteries and ghost stories. Their sidekick, Doubting Dave (David Acer), is based in the Mystery Lab, where he conducts experiments that tie into each episode. Past travels have taken the group to the Oregon forest in search of Bigfoot (Dave makes a footprint cast out of plaster), to Toronto to visit a 1,000-year-old mummy, and to a spoon-bending workshop in San Francisco.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (3 ):

There's much to like about Mystery Hunters. Mengesha and Broccolini are easy to relate to and do a good job engaging the audience while reporting their stories. The show's vibrant graphics and visual recreations are sure to grab young audiences' attention.

What's perhaps best about the show, though, is that kids come away having leaned something about past and present-day puzzles. Parents should note that since many of the episodes deal with the paranormal -- including the existence of ghosts, witches, and monsters -- very young children might be frightened by the series' reenactments.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the paranormal. Do ghosts exist?

  • Can you believe everything you hear? How do you decide if a story is true or not?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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