Image: ODD SQUAD Blob Chase App (credit: courtesy of ODD SQUAD (C) 2015 The Fred Rogers Company)
ODD SQUAD Blob Chase helps kids 5-8 practice math and problem-solving skills
ARLINGTON, VA, January 15, 2015 – PBS KIDS today announced Blob Chase, the first mobile app from its newest media property ODD SQUAD. Available for iPad, Android tablets and Fire tablet, ODD SQUADBlob Chase extends the adventures and humor of theseries, as kids chase and recover blobs that have escaped their containers and are on the loose in Odd Squad headquarters. The new app encourages kids to use math skills to investigate and solve problems, just as the agents do in the new series. ODD SQUAD, which premiered in November 2014, airs weekdays on PBS KIDS (check local listings) and offers games, videos and more at pbskids.org/oddsquad. The app debuts in tandem with an all-new on-air special: “Odd Squad Saves the World,” which premieres Monday, January 19, on PBS KIDS.
“PBS KIDS offers children connected educational media experiences across platforms,” said Sara DeWitt, Vice President, PBS KIDS Digital. “The Blob Chase App builds on one of ODD SQUAD’s episodes, in which a blob escapes and separates, and the agents have to work together to collect all the pieces. In the app, kids use math to solve this odd problem, extending what they have learned through watching the show by practicing the same skills in a mobile experience.”
The ODD SQUAD Blob Chase App includes 60 levels of gaming in which kids use math skills to get blobs across bridges, over walls, through tubes and eventually back into their containers. To discover which gadget will work best for each particular challenge, kids problem-solve using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
ODD SQUAD is created by Tim McKeon (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Adventure Time, The Electric Company) and Adam Peltzman (The Electric Company, The Backyardigans, Wallykazam!) and produced by The Fred Rogers Company and Sinking Ship Entertainment. ODD SQUAD is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), as well as by the U.S. Department of Education through the Ready To Learn Initiative, a program that supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families.
The new app will be made available free to families in low-income communities through the PBS KIDS Mobile Learning Program. With the support of participating local public media stations, this national outreach effort provides free app download codes to help educators and families support children’s learning in Head Start centers, Title I schools and other community-based organizations.
Blob Chase is part of PBS KIDS’ ongoing commitment to using the power of media to help kids succeed in school and in life. The organization offers a variety of apps to help support children’s learning. More information on PBS KIDS apps is available at pbskids.org/apps.
Blob Chase is available for $0.99 for a limited time on the App Store for iPad or at www.AppStore.com/PBSKIDS. The app is also available for $0.99 for a limited time on Fire tablet on the Amazon Appstore: http://to.pbs.org/kidsappsamazon and Android tablets on Google Play: http://to.pbs.org/kidsappsplay.
Images of Blob Chase can be found on PBS PressRoom.
About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS also offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning. The PBS KIDS Video App is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.
About Sinking Ship Entertainment
Sinking Ship Entertainment is an award-winning production and interactive company that creates and produces groundbreaking kids TV and transmedia content. Since its founding in 2004, Sinking Ship has created and produced numerous children’s TV series and has been on the forefront of TV production and interactive media for kids. From being selected as one of the first partners of Amazon Studios with the upcoming series “Annedroids” to achieving Nick Jr.’s highest debut of all time with the action-packed series “Dino Dan,” Sinking Ship Entertainment brings dynamic content to audiences around the world with shows broadcast in more than 130 countries. Other series highlights include the award-winning “This is Daniel Cook,” “This is Emily Yeung” and “Are We There Yet?: World Adventure.” Find out more at www.sinkingship.ca.
About The Fred Rogers Company
The company was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media, and engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly-rated, award-winning children’s series include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat and Odd Squad. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org.
About The Ready To Learn Initiative
The Ready To Learn Initiative is a cooperative agreement funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. It supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted to preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach and research on educational effectiveness.
Contacts:
Maria Vera, PBS; 703.739.3225; mvera@pbs.org
Meredith Gandy, 360PR; 415.610.4067; mgandy@360pr.com
The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]
