New episode "Parks and Recreation" features an animated character designed and voiced by a special guest

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2015 — (PRNewswire) — Earlier this year, WNET teamed up with Make-A-Wish^® to grant the wish of 10-year old Trisha from Cincinnati, Ohio. Trisha wished to work with the director, producers and crew of her favorite show, Cyberchase, WNET's Emmy Award^®-winning PBS KIDS series for kids 6 to 11.

In May, Trisha and her family went on location in Ottawa, Canada to become part of the Cyberchase animation team at PIP Animation. Working with the WNET producers and the PIP crew, Trisha had the opportunity to bring an episode of Cyberchase to life. She helped design her own character, Oona, and even voiced her in the recording studio. Trisha also assisted in the various stages of animation production for new Cyberchase episodes, including background color and scene assembly. 

Season 10 of Cyberchase launches November 9. The episode featuring Trisha's animated TV debut, Parks and Recreation, premieres Thursday, November 12 on PBS stations across the country (check local listings).

"We were delighted to help make Trisha's wish a reality," said Sandra Sheppard, Executive Producer and Director of Children's & Educational Media, WNET. "Her joy and enthusiasm for participating in the production of Cyberchase was inspiring to us all.  Trisha is a role model and we're honored to have had the opportunity to spend the day with her."

On average, every 37 minutes, a child with a life-threatening medical condition is granted his or her wish by Make-A-Wish. According to results of a 2011 Wish Impact Study cited by Make-A-Wish, when a kid is granted a wish, the experience improves the quality of life not only for the child but for the child's entire family.

Parks and Recreation is one of five new educational adventures focusing on math, health and the environment premiering in November during Cyberchase's 10^th season.  Other episodes in the new season include Fit To Be Heroes (Nov. 9), A Recipe for Chaos (Nov. 10), A Seedy Business (Nov. 11), and Bottled Up (Nov. 13). Season 10 Cyberchase premieres include:

Fit To Be Heroes - Monday, November 9th
The CyberSquad and their new friend Scanner embark on a quest to build a new Encryptor Chip for Motherboard and cure her virus. With Hacker in hot pursuit, the kids must run, ski, canoe and climb their way to the end of the mission.
Topics: Being Active; Data Representation/Tables

A Recipe for Chaos - Tuesday, November 10th
The CyberSquad discovers a popular new restaurant in Castleblanca is serving unhealthy food and Hacker is behind it all. To get Hacker to stop making his unhealthy food, Digit challenges him to a cook-off.
Topics: Healthy Meals; Data Representation/Pie Charts

A Seedy Business - Wednesday, November 11th
The citizens of Factoria are back to work but the benefactor of the toy factory is none other than Hacker, and he serves the employees unhealthy meals from vending machines. To get the Factorians out of Hacker's clutches, the CyberSquad must show them how to grow their own food.
Topics: Seed to Table; Area

Parks and Recreation - Thursday, November 12th
Kids in glamorous Gollywood have no safe place to play. They discover an empty lot that can be converted to a park, but Hacker wants the lot for his new Gollywood Tower. When the CyberSquad learns Hacker is planning to use the tower to corrupt Motherboard's hard drive, they go up against him at a city council hearing.
Topics: Built Environments; Data Collection and Representation/Surveys, Tally Marks

Bottled Up - Friday, November 13th
Radsters are an active bunch, but they have a big problem: water bottles. Way Cool Arena has been turned into a bottle dump, and the beloved skate park is next! The kids and Slider must find a way to get rid of the heaps of empties and reduce future waste while making sure Radsters stay healthy.
Topics: Water; Sampling, Multiplication

Cyberchase airs Monday-Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. 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 on the Cyberchase website or the PBS KIDS Video app.

Cyberchase is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Executive producers are Sandra Sheppard, WNET's Director of Children's & Educational Media, and Ellen Doherty. Producer is Kristin DiQuollo. Funding for Cyberchase is provided by The JPB Foundation and Ernst & Young LLP. Additional funding is provided by the Tiger Baron Foundation.

About WNET
As New York's flagship public media provider and the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore App where users can stream PBS content for free.

About Make-A-Wish
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true has positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Headquartered in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world's leading children's charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 27,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 37 minutes. It has granted more than 254,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; more than 14,200 in 2014 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at wish.org to learn more.