Cyberchase Celebrates Their 100th Episode with a Movie, Airing April 15 on PBS Kids

By Nancy Johnson Horn, Editor —

Are you a fan of Cyberchase on PBS Kids? We got an opportunity last week to screen the new Cyberchase Movie at Channel Thirteen’s Studios in Lincoln Center.

The popular PBS KIDS math series is celebrating its 100^th episode with an eco-themed adventure: “The CYBERCHASE Movie.” Guest star Rico Rodriguez (Manny from Modern Family) joins cast members Christopher Lloyd and Gilbert Gottfried when the first-ever movie from CYBERCHASE, the Emmy Award®-winning series produced by THIRTEEN, airs this April on PBS stations across the country (check local listings). The adventure will also be available online at pbskids.org/video and on the go with the free PBS KIDS Video App following the premiere.

In “The CYBERCHASE Movie.” Hacker and his bumbling henchbots Buzz and Delete are drilling inside the nature preserve Ecotopia when they carelessly set off a slime geyser, destroying many animals’ habitats and causing overcrowding. Matt, Jackie, Inez and Digit are called in to rescue the animals and restore harmony to Ecotopia. They team up with Ollie (voiced by Rodriguez), a Junior Ranger, and quickly learn that harmony on Ecotopia isn’t their only problem. Can the kids restore Ecotopia, rescue their friends and prevent Cyberspace from being lost to Hacker forever?

“This is an exciting year for us at THIRTEEN, as we celebrate CYBERCHASE’s 13^th year on air and the 100^th episode this April,” says Sandra Sheppard, Executive Producer of CYBERCHASE and Director of Children’s & Educational Media at THIRTEEN. “The movie’s environmental focus builds on the CYBERCHASE mission to inspire kids with a love of math. By modeling problem-solving and making practical connections between math and science, we give kids tools to explore their world.”

CYBERCHASE has also created a series of real-world games exploring the environmental topics of keystone species, waste reduction and solar power, available for families to print and play at home at pbskids.org/cyberchase.

“The CYBERCHASE mantra has always been ‘math is everywhere,’” says Executive Producer Ellen Doherty. “With the real-world games, we’re excited for kids and families to bring math to the playground, backyard or living room.”

Classrooms, afterschool programs and museums will also be celebrating Earth Day this April, and CYBERCHASE has made math- and environment-themed lesson plans, activities and video clips available for free download through PBS LearningMedia, PBS’ digital media service for K-12 classrooms.

“The CYBERCHASE Movie” will premiere Tuesday, April 15 at 4:30pm on THIRTEEN in New York. Parents can check listings for their local PBS station for broadcast times in their area and can also stream episodes for free anytime using the PBS KIDS Video Player, the PBS KIDS Video App or the CYBERCHASE website.

We got some facetime with Harry (Matthew A. Wilson). He was funny and really engaged with all the kids.