More to learn after the TV shuts off

Three earth kids get pulled into a computer program that transports them into cyberspace.

They find themselves on countless adventures in their pursuit to protect Motherboard from an evil hacker.

With the help of a robot bird named Digit, the kids save the day by using their critical thinking and math skills on Cyberchase, an animated children’s show on PBS.

“It’s geared for upper elementary school students and it shows kids using math and thinking skills to beat challenges,” said Paula Sklodowski, the outreach coordinator.

She is in charge of taking the show from the television screen and into the Bonita Springs Public Library for an afternoon of activities about the show and its characters.

“These sessions are a chance for kids to learn that there is more to the show than just what they see on the screen,” Sklodowski, who works at Florida Gulf Coast University’s broadcast station that airs the show every weekday. “They will see clips of the show and in this case, talk about financial education, and we will have prizes.”

The last five minutes of Cyberchase take the concepts from the show and apply them to a real life situation using live comedians.

“The segment is called ‘For Real’ and it makes it really visible for the kids to see what the concepts are in the show and what the skill is,” Sklodowski said.

Much like the short segment, Sklodowski will keep kids entertained on June 7 by teaching them how to apply the concepts into their daily lives.

“Kids watch TV, we all kno, but we want them to know that the things they learn on television are things they can use in real life,” Sklodowski said.

The show has been in living rooms in Southwest Florida since 2002 and is presented by a station out of New York.

Sklodowski encourages everyone to attend the session including parents.

“It’s really nice that the parents can sit in on one of these sessions because they see it and are able to see that there are lessons being taught on the program,” Sklodowski said. “This show is just the beginning, there are a lot of things kids can do once they turn off the TV.”