The Emmy-Winning animated kids’ series returns in honor of Earth Day with four new environment-themed topics and adventures; the season debuts on PBS KIDS Family Night on April 21.
The Emmy Award-winning kids’ series, Cyberchase returns with a new season on April 21 at 7 p.m. ET, during “PBS KIDS Family Night,” and streams free on PBS KIDS in honor of Earth Day (April 22). Episodes feature four new environment-themed topics and adventures, including recycling and trash cleanup, tree planting, weather, and climate, and free interactive STEM resources for families, all available in English and Spanish.
- “Cleanup on Isle 8” (kicks off the new season) - Inez grapples with giving her beloved stuffie heirloom to her little brother León while Delete corrals the CyberSquad into helping him clean up the lake.
- “Trees, Please” - Viewers meet Inez's Colombian and Mexican American family and discover how reimagining a community courtyard unites their family.
- “Weather or Not” – The special one-hour Earth Day "movie" introduces Jackie’s Jamaican American family on Earth as the CyberSquad tackles an odd haze threatening Stellandia. The young characters explore positive solutions to environmental problems – sending viewers the message that taking small actions can lead to big solutions.
Each episode includes live-action “Cyberchase: For Real” epilogues that link the math and environmental concepts shown in the animation to the real world.
With a grant from the National Science Foundation, Season 14 of Cyberchase also focuses on reaching low-income and Latino communities with Cyberchase Mobile Adventures in STEM, a free, national bilingual family texting program. Families who sign up receive weekly text messages in English or Spanish with links to Cyberchase media and a choice of two related hands-on STEM activities. Viewers can sign up by texting the word CYBER to 30644.
As part of the grant, the Education Development Center, Inc. is conducting formative and summative research with families and kids around the country on the appeal and effectiveness of the Cyberchase episodes and family resources.
“Our Cyberchase work is grounded in reaching kids and families across the country,” said Sandra Sheppard, executive producer of Cyberchase and Kids’ Media & Education for The WNET Group. “This season, we continued that work by bringing on writers and advisors to further reflect the diversity of stories we’re telling. Through introducing viewers to the families of Jackie and Inez, we're excited to celebrate their unique backgrounds and cultural heritage while also sharing opportunities for joyful STEM learning with both English and Spanish-speaking families nationwide.”
Next fall, the series will debut a new digital-exclusive shorts series, The Belly Bowl. In this serialized story, the CyberSquad will trek through the snowy landscape of Penguia to track down a device the dastardly Hacker has hidden while trying to make it back in time for their penguin friend’s racing championship. Along the way, they find innovative ways to use different forms of renewable energy—solar, wind, wave, and kinetic energy from gravity—to save the day.
The WNET Group produces Cyberchase with Sheppard as Executive Producer, and Melinda Toporoff as Co-Executive Producer.
Source: PBS KIDS
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
