KUED Programs

(topic: 2- & 3-D Geometry) - Pursued by Hacker, Digit lands on cybersite Eureeka, where his mission is to find Professor Archimedes - the maker of the encryptor chip, a unique computer chip that can fix Motherboard. But Archimedes is nowhere to be found - only a pile of two-dimensional rods where his chip factory should be. The kids arrive to help, and discover that by linking the two-dimensional rods together into certain geometrical patterns they actually create a surprising three-dimensional shape that leads directly to unraveling the mystery of Archimedes' strange disappearance. The Big Idea: When you follow simple rules to make flat geometrical shapes (two- dimensional), and join them together, you can discover new shapes that, instead of staying flat, rise up to make three-dimensional objects.

Introducing Memoryville, home to a vast storehouse of Cyberspace data, where The Slugball Open, a Cyberspace version of baseball, is in progress. In their attempt to win for a day the Key to the City, Team Motherboard has made it to the finals ... along with, you guessed it, Hacker! Unbeknownst to most (except, of course, to Hacker), this Key opens all doors to the city-including the door to the data storehouse! With surefire plans to win, Hacker can hardly wait to delete the data and create untold chaos. Undaunted by the awesome array of Hacker's bad guys, Team Motherboard discovers distinctive patterns to these nefarious sluggers' past performances. But can the hit charts they develop be enough to help the good guys win?

(topic: Navigation) - A day at the library turns into a cyberventure when Jackie, Matt, and Inez learn that Hacker has kidnapped Dr. Marbles, the only person who can save Motherboard from an evil virus! The team learns to use a map as a mathematical tool as they navigate across a cyber island in search of Marbles...then try to escape before a huge earthquake turns the island inside out! The Big Idea: A map is a mathematical tool you can use to find your way from one place to another, anywhere on earth.

When Hacker strands Jackie atop Mount Wayupthere, the rest of the CyberSquad has to act fast to save her. In their search for the elusive Diamond Joe - the mysterious figure who holds the secret to Jackie's release - the CyberSquad meets spunky TW, a young Parallini who agrees to help them. Can they discover the power of parallelograms in time to launch a daring rescue mission?

(topic: Algebraic Variables) - The Hacker challenges Jackie, Matt and Inez to a contest on cyber-wide television! In order to prove to all of Cyberspace that Hacker's not as powerful or smart as he seems - the kids return to Topsy-Turvy Island on the Northern Frontier for the contest. Their mission is to power up a Mini-Wreaker using cyber-fireflies of varying power before the island turns inside out at sunset. The kids must use algebraic equations to determine how many Gleamers - and how much power - they'll need. The Big Idea: When you use a letter to stand in for a number that repeats or changes in a problem, you can simplify the arithmetic and make the problem easier to solve.

Why does glamorous Gollywood go ga-ga when a nobody like Mister Z skips town? It's a fiendish Hacker scheme, of course. Because of a poison pen campaign devised by Hacker, Mister Z feels worthless and unwanted. He decides to leave Gollywood, taking his zeroes with him. The sudden disappearance of the number zero causes confusion and chaos, exactly as Hacker planned. As Hacker becomes the biggest star in Gollywood, the kids and Digit must show Mister Z he does indeed have a value by demonstrating the importance of the number zero.

To compete for the prestigious Penguia Cup, Fluff wants to wear his dad's lucky hockey skates - but his teammates won't let him! They're all going to wear the cool new Cyberblades they saw advertised on TV. To change their minds, Fluff must analyze a sneaky ad and prove the new skates are not the best choice for the big game.

Hacker infects Motherboard with a new virus -- one that causes her to make cyber-citizens act mean. Digit and the kids go in search of an antidote: 2/5 of the Electro-Root, 2/8 of the Healing Stone, and 1/3 of a box of Hacker's wig gel -- a strange antidote indeed! Will the young cyber-heroes be able to gather the ingredients and figure out how to properly mix these odd fractions before it is too late? The Big Idea: Fractions that look different can represent the same portion of a whole. Math Topic: Equivalent Fractions.

(topic: Probability and Chance) - Disguised as a gypsy, Hacker lures Digit to a fantastic cyber amusement park and holds him captive. When the kids arrive, they analyze the games of chance, figuring out which games are fair and which ones are not, and use what they learn to find Hacker and beat him at his own game before it's too late! The Big Idea: A game of chance is fair when nobody can tell who will win, but everyone has the same chance of being a winner.

In the company of the ghostly pirate Ivanka, the elusive Doctor Marbles is back, and this time he's discovered a powerful cybermineral he can use to help Motherboard. Located deep inside a volcano on the cybersite Corsario, this "Magmalux" is strong enough to override the virus Hacker inflicted on the beloved Cyberspace ruler. Unfortunately, Hacker is on to Marbles and traps him on Skull Island so he can retrieve the Magmalux for his own evil purpose. Enter the CyberSquad: Digit tracks Hacker while the kids solve another problem: how to rescue Marbles! Hacker has destroyed the bridge to Skull Island, and the water surrounding it is infested with electric eels. Can they build a new bridge-with just an old sign to work with-and get to the volcano in time to stop Hacker?

Digit disappears while visiting his friends the Scritters, so Motherboard sends Matt, Jackie and Inez to investigate. They discover that Hacker has found a supply of Magnetite, and will use it to fill up a rocket capable of erasing all of Motherboard's memory disks. Can the kids stop Hacker before he collects a hundred percent of the Magnetite he needs to launch the rocket, or will Motherboard be shut down once and for all?

(topic: Area) - Our Cyber-Team is transported to a Wild West site to prove that Hacker has taken a larger piece of land than he is allowed. Hacker is in jail and the trial is about to begin, but is his homestead really larger than what Judge Trudy will allow? The kids must discover how to measure the area of his irregularly shaped property in order to find the answer. The Big Idea: To find the area of an object, count how many squares fit on it. But there's an easier way! Measure an object's dimensions, and you can use mathematics to calculate its area.

Hacker makes Buzz's dream come true and gives him his very own donut shop in Radopolis. But it's just part of Hacker's latest scheme. Working out of the donut shop, Hacker makes confetti out of magnetite, and uses it to put all the Radsters to sleep, so he can take over the cybersite. The kids must engineer a huge "confetti cleaner" to save the Radsters, but encounter problem after problem with their invention. Has the CyberSquad finally found something they cannot do? EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: When you need something that doesn't exist, invent it! You can use what you know about problem solving to overcome hurdles along the way.

Hacker becomes a good guy! Can this possibly be true? A new, reformed Hacker runs for election against Motherboard, claiming to have done five good deeds, and promising to turn over a new leaf. Can the kids find a counter example that proves Hacker is lying -- or will he be elected the new ruler of cyberspace? Guest voice: Al Roker as "Sam Vander Rom." The Big Idea: When people use words like always, never, all, or none to claim something is true, be suspicious! Such claims are often false, and you need only a single counter example to disprove them. Math Topic: Counter Examples NCTM Link: Reasoning & Proof.

When Wicked puts a CyberSquad Seal of Approval on her new "Wickedy Brooms," it's up to Matt, Jackie, Inez and Digit to make sure the brooms are as good as Wicked claims. They try them out, figuring out their speed - how far the different brooms go in a given amount of time. The brooms pass the test - but Wicked doesn't. They must race to Control Central and save Motherboard before Wicked's scheme succeeds! And where's Hacker? And what will he do when he finds out Wicked is trying to take over his turf? EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: You can use speed - the distance you travel in a unit of time - to tell how far you will go in any amount of time.

All is not well in Perfectamundo, a dome-enclosed cybersite, when orange spots are discovered building up on the dome's interior surface, blocking the site's precious sunlight. What source could be responsible for the spots multiplying so fast? Is it Hacker's new factory that pours out orange clouds through smoky stacks? It can't be that new Digifizz toy, with its tiny burst of colorful sparkles shooting into the air each time it gets used. With time running out, the CyberSquad must come to grips with the power of multiplication and use it to undo the site's pollution problem.

Frustrated that she can't find Mr. Perfect, The Wicked Witch sets out to design him, by turning a frog into her Prince Charming. Unknowingly, however, Wicked captures and transforms Digit instead of a frog. Her sympathetic wand, Wanda (Danica McKellar), secretly alerts the CyberSquad who jump into action. Their problems multiply when a jealous Hacker kidnaps their cyboid pal. The kids must design an invention that can do two things: navigate a perilous swamp AND get to the top of a tall cliff. Can they pull off the rescue before it's too late? EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Make a design - a plan for your invention - before you start building so you can make sure that it will function the way that you want it to.

Hacker, longing again for Wicked, devises a deliciously dreadful plan to impress her: He sneaks into Happily-Ever-Afterville, uncovers the Book of Unhappy Endings, releases them across the site and crowns himself king! Wicked, duly impressed, becomes his Queen and together they delight as unhappy endings unfold. To rescue the site, the CyberSquad must get the Book back from Hacker to recapture the unhappy endings, and seal it inside 3 nesting boxes with precisely fitting lids ... all before sundown! Of course, Hacker has destroyed the lids, but the kids enlist the carpentry skills of one of the Three Little Pigs. Can the team figure out how to cut new lids in time - or will this tale end Unhappily Ever After?

On the prowl for a new power source, Hacker descends on Frogsnorts School of Sorcery. His scheme? To steal Professor Stumblesnore's wand and harness its awesome magic to energize himself. Hacker's first task is to get star student Shari Spotter out of his way. He entraps Shari in Merlin's Maze by blocking her path with a series of heavy stone slabs. The CyberSquad learns of Shari's plight, but the slabs that block her escape are too heavy to move unaided. In their rescue mission, the kids experiment with levers and discover a proportional rule: Multiply the length of your lever and you will similarly multiply the weight you can lift. They free Shari, but not in time: Hacker has been successful and stolen Stumblesnore's magic! Is Shari's magic powerful enough to defeat him?

(topic: Number Sense) - Hacker kidnaps the King of this fractured fairytale world, and demands a ransom of golden eggs. The Wicked Witch then casts a spell, taking away everyone's ability to count and making it impossible for the fairy tale folk to gather the required large number of eggs. With the safety of the King at stake, the kids must help the fairy tale folk understand the role of place value in our number system before time runs out! The Big Idea: With numbers and a system, you have the power to keep track of anything and everything on earth.

(topic: Symmetry) - In his passion for symmetry, Dr. Marbles has created Symmetria, a harmonious cyberplace where everything is made symmetrical by a symmetrizer. Hacker steals the machine and reprograms it so that he can undo symmetry. The kids must master the properties of symmetry before Hacker destroys beauty, balance and harmony throughout all of cyberspace! The Big Idea: Symmetries are patterns you can find hidden within many objects that create balance, order, and a pleasing regularity in the world around us.

Hacker's fear rating has plummeted to near zero - almost no one is scare of him anymore! To boost his bad guy image, he blasts the antenna off of Far Out Radio and sets off a cataclysmic chain reaction: no music - no rebooter bees - no computer chips - no Cyberspace! The CyberSquad must find and measure each antenna piece so they can replace the antenna before Cyberspace shuts down.

(topic: Combinations) - Hacker finds the Krystal of Kalmoor, the powerful orb that will give him eternal power. By possessing the Krystal, Hacker can roam cyberspace and create havoc without having to recharge his power. When the kids and Digit arrive to retrieve the Krystal, they are stymied by a series of switches, levers and buttons. Faced with the challenge of too many choices, the kids discover the value of lists, tables and, yes, tree diagrams! The Big Idea: Overwhelmed with choices? Lists, tables and tree diagrams help you master the combinations.

When Hacker discovers that the liquid ooze that feeds the animals of EcoHaven also gives him a super energy boost, he decides to drain the pond and take the ooze home. He builds a fort around the pond, so the CyberSquad must figure out a way to get in without being noticed. They take inspiration from the Greek myth of the Trojan Horse and build a giant "Trojan Ducky." After testing a model of their invention to be sure it works, they hide inside the duck, and fool Delete into taking them to Hacker. But how will they stop Hacker's nefarious plot? EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Build a working model of your invention to communicate and test your ideas, and make necessary improvements so the invention works the way you want it to.

When Wicked casts a spell on the Pompadorians to make them all adore her, Jackie and Digit must reproduce the only symbol that can break it - without being able to see what the symbol looks like. Matt and Inez can't get to Pompadoria to help, so they describe the symbol through their Skwak. But how can they describe the odd-looking spell-breaker accurately so Jackie can make a reproduction that works?