THIRTEEN's Emmy Award-Winning PBS KIDS Series "Cyberchase" Celebrates Earth Month with New Primetime Special and Game, "Space Waste Odyssey," April 19

Bilingual STEM mobile engagement project launches this month in select markets

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Apr 09, 2019, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- THIRTEEN's Emmy Award-winning children's series Cyberchase continues to explore the intersection of math and environmental learning while engaging children and parents in STEM with the new primetime special Space Waste Odyssey, premiering Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. on the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream. The new game "Space Waste Odyssey" launches the same day on the Cyberchase website and free on the PBS KIDS Games app. Additionally, Cyberchase is piloting a new bilingual, family engagement program, Cyberchase Mobile Adventures in STEM, in select markets this month.

PREVIEW: CYBERCHASE | Catch Space Waste Odyssey on April 19th! | PBS KIDS - In a galaxy far, far away, cyberspace is in trouble! And it's up to Jackie, Matt, Inez and Digit to set things right in Space Waste Odyssey!

Cyberchase: Space Waste Odyssey
Premieres Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. on the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream; Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 on PBS KIDS (check local listings). In New York, the special will air Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. on THIRTEEN PBSKids and Sunday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. on THIRTEEN.

In this new primetime special, the dastardly Hacker (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) believes he has finally concocted his most perfect plan to take control of Cyberspace from the benevolent ruler Motherboard. He positions giant patches of trash, unknowingly created by the citizens of Cyberspace, to converge on Motherboard's Control Central. Relying on their problem-solving and scientific reasoning skills, an epic journey through space, and reports from citizens across Cyberspace, the CyberSquad -- a team of three curious kids, and their loveable pal Digit (voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) -- must get to the bottom of the trash trouble before it's too late.

Cyberchase "Space Waste Odyssey" Game
Available for free beginning April 19 via pbskids.org/cyberchase and on the PBS KIDS Games app

The "Space Waste Odyssey" continues in a new learning game in which kids themselves become part of the massive clean-up effort in Cyberspace. While traveling across cybersites and navigating through junk-storms to collect trash, players will learn how to dispose of waste by sorting it into containers for reuse, recycling, compost and landfill. The game has 10 levels, bonus content and a customizable control panel with accessibility features for players of all abilities.

Cyberchase Mobile Adventures in STEM Family Engagement Project
Available in New York, Houston, San Antonio, and Tampa, Florida, beginning in April

THIRTEEN and Education Development Center, Inc. are also embarking on Cyberchase Mobile Adventures in STEM, a pilot research project focused on a bilingual family engagement program that will serve low-income and Latino families. Offered in both English and Spanish, the program includes a face-to-face workshop, rich narrative Cyberchase content, and a six-week texting program that encourages parents to engage in math, science and environmental learning activities with their children. The research project will explore which features of the program have most value to low-income and Latino families and how mobile text messages can change the environment of informal family STEM learning. Results will be available in late 2019.

"Cyberchase's innovative focus on math and environmental learning taps into children's love of nature and concern for the planet, and showcases math as a real-world tool," said Sandra Sheppard, Executive Producer and THIRTEEN's Director of Kids' Media and Education. "Since problem-solving and teamwork are the essence of Cyberchase, it's wonderfully suited to build young children's environmental knowledge and interest."

"We hope the combination of our new TV special, learning game, and on-the-ground engagement will continue our positive impact on families' excitement around STEM and we look forward to the results of our pilot study later this year," added Kristin DiQuollo, Executive Producer of Cyberchase.

Cyberchase is produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Sandra Sheppard and Kristin DiQuollo are executive producers.

Funding for Cyberchase: Space Waste Odyssey, the Cyberchase Mobile Adventures in STEM family engagement project, and formative evaluation for the "Space Waste Odyssey" game is provided by the National Science Foundation through grant #1713444.

Series funding for Cyberchase is provided by The JPB Foundation and Ernst & Young LLP. Additional funding is provided by the Tiger Baron Foundation, Lynne and Marc Benioff, The V & L Marx Foundation in Memory of Virginia and Leonard Marx, and Shailaja and Umesh Nagarkatte.

The National Science Foundation is a major supporter of Nature: American Spring Live, also produced by THIRTEEN, which encourages citizen science participation through a three-night multi-platform event, premiering Monday, April 29 – Wednesday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) and Facebook, and extensive community outreach and engagement campaign nationwide.

Websites: pbskids.org/cyberchase, http://facebook.com/cyberchase, @Cyberchase

About WNET
WNET is America's flagship PBS station: parent company of New York's THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.

About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children's learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children's learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school readiness and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About EDC
Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity. Since 1980, EDC's Center for Children and Technology (CCT) has been at the forefront of research investigating the roles that innovative digital technologies can play in improving learning for children and adults in schools, homes and communities.

SOURCE WNET