WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will appear next month on “Mythbusters,” a television series that uses science to investigate popular myths.

Obama’s Dec. 8 appearance on the Discovery Channel show is part of a White House effort to highlight the importance of science education. It is one of several non-traditional media appearances by the president, who appeared at an MTV town hall last week and was interviewed on the daytime television talk show “The View” in July.

Some episodes of “Mythbusters” have looked at questions like whether Christmas tree lights cause house fires and whether dirty cars are more fuel-efficient than clean ones. The show has about 13 million viewers a week and is especially popular with 9- to 14-year olds, according to the White House. (Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Eric Walsh) (caren.bohan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8300; Reuters Messaging: caren.bohan.reuters.com@reuters.net))