Libraries selected to host Cyberchasesm kids math workshops
Contact: Laura Hayes
312-280-5055
lhayes@ala.org
For Immediate Release
November 2003
Libraries selected to host “Cyberchase” kids’ math workshops
Libraries around the country will team up with
TV’s hit math mystery cartoon “Cyberchase”
to turn kids on to math through a partnership of Thirteen/WNET New York (PBS) and the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office. Fifteen public and school (K-12) libraries have been selected to serve as “Cyberchase” outreach sites.
Through series of workshops for children and their families, based on the hit PBS
Kids
®
daily series, these libraries will introduce children to math… “Cyberchase” style. Through fun games and exciting hands-on activities, young people will be challenged to use their problem-solving skills and discover the power of math. Participating
families will take home activities, suggested reading lists, magazines and more.
Libraries selected to host the “Cyberchase” workshops are (in alphabetical order by state):
·
Horizon Elementary School Library Media Center, Madison, Ala.
·
Wexler-Grant Community School, New Haven, Conn.
·
Lee County Library, Smithville, Ga.
·
East Chicago Public Library, East Chicago, Ind.
·
Hays Public Library, Hays, Kan.
·
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Topeka, Kan.
·
Vermilion Parish Library, Abbeville, La.
·
Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence, Mass.
·
East Lansing Public Library, East Lansing, Mich.
·
P.S. 75 Emily Dickinson School Library, New York, N.Y.
·
New York Public Library, Fordham Library Center, Bronx, N.Y.
·
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, N.C.
·
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cincinnati, Ohio
·
Northwest Regional Library, Belle Fourche, S.D.
·
Vienna Public Library, Vienna, W.V.
The libraries selected as outreach sites will introduce children in their communities through a series of four or more family workshops.
As community media centers, libraries play an important role in helping children access the online world and receive guidance from expert librarians and technicians. “
Cyberchase” activities will be instituted within the library setting to provide additional online and learning opportunities to children, families and after-school groups.
The six “Cyberchase” workshops, provided to a total of 15 libraries, are all based on an episode of “
Cyberchase”
and use game play and hands-on activities to motivate kids to solve math problems and gain new skills. These workshops are designed to give libraries the tools needed to create an enjoyable learning experience for the kids and parents.
Suggested activities and other materials are also provided.
The mission of the ALA Public Programs Office is to foster cultural programming as an integral part of library service in all types of libraries.
Established in 1990, the office helps thousands of libraries nationwide develop and host programs that encourage dialogue among community members and works to establish libraries as cultural centers in their communities.
“Cyberchase” is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana.
Executive producers are Sandra Sheppard,
director of children's and educational Programming at Thirteen, and Kristin Laskas Martin, former executive producer of the award-winning
“Magic School Bus.”
Larry Jacobs, former director of “
Magic School Bus,” is animation director for Nelvana Limited.
Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing such acclaimed series as “
Nature,” “Great Performances,” “American Masters,” “Charlie Rose,” “R
eligion & Ethics NewsWeekly,” “Wide Angle,” “Stage on Screen,” “Secrets of the Dead,” and “
Cyberchase” – as well as the work of Bill Moyers– to audiences nationwide.
As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers each week.
More information about Thirteen can be found at
The National Science Foundation, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provide major funding for Cyberchase.
Additional funding is provided by The Intel Foundation, The Kettering Family Foundation and The Volckhausen Family. Corporate funding provided by Jif Peanut Butter and Intel Corporation.
