Design Squad

Design Squad is a PBS reality television series geared towards middle and high-school children, where they design whimsical machines in order to win an Intel college scholarship worth $10,000. The show is produced by WGBH.

Hosts

Nate Ball and Deanne Bell are real engineers and the co-hosts of season 1. Deanne did not return for Season 2 leaving for the Discovery Channel program Smash Lab, leaving Nate as the sole host of the show.

Teams

There are two teams. Season 1 had a Red Team and a Blue Team. Season 2 has a Green team and Purple team. Season 3 has a mix team of from Season 1 & Season 2. In this show, the whole team wins. The team members switch from one episode to the next, so the teams never stay the same.

Season 1 Cast

1. Giselle
2. Joey
3. Kim
4. Krishana
5. Michael
6. Natasha
7. Noah
8. Tom

Season 1 Episodes

1. "The Need for Speed" – A professional racecar builder challenges the teams to convert kiddie toys into motorized dragsters.
2. "Rock On" – The teams compete to create original musical instruments-one stringed and one percussive-for Off White Noise, a local band. The instruments are put to the test when Off White Noise rocks out at the Middle East nightclub.
3. "Skunk'd" – When a guy named Skunk comes looking for a bike bizarre enough to impress the members of SCUL (Subversive Choppers Urban Legion), well, you give him what he wants. The rubber really hits the road when DS parades their newly created choppers (bikes) on a SCUL mission.
4. "DS Unplugged" – The teams take a crash course in pre-industrial building techniques, as they compete to build 20-foot bridges—without the aid of power tools, forklifts, or ... flushable toilets. It's a show for the (Middle) Ages!
5. "Got Game" – Challenged to come up with a way to cover all the angles of a basketball game via remote-controlled cameras, the teams dive into action and compete to prove who's got (the whole) game!
6. "A Collective Collaboration" – The teams set their sights on designing the most durable, portable and low cost peanut butter making machines for a women's collective in Haiti. Powered by human hands and inspiring to the human heart, DS shows that engineering really can change lives.
7. "Just For Kicks" – The challenge: design a REVOLUTIONary device that automatically feeds a stream of balls to Michael Parkhurst, a professional soccer player with the New England Revolution. Here's one Design Squad's episode that's sure to be a ball.
8. "Functional Fashion" – It's a marriage of high tech and haute couture (well, sort of!) as the teams compete to see who can design the best dual-purpose clothing. Join DS on the runway as the garments/gadgets make their fashion debut.
9. "Batter Up" – How to make a perfect pancake? The DS teams seek the right ingredients for a machine that will cook, flip, and serve up delicious flapjacks at the flick of a switch. The winning machine is put to the (taste) test at a busy diner.
10. "Pumped" – An 11-foot tall water slide will be a cool addition to the community pool—once there's a pump to deliver the water. See which invention makes the biggest splash with YMCA campers.
11. "Blowin' In The Wind" – The teams tap into their inner artists as they compete to design and build wind-powered kinetic art from recycled materials. The winning sculpture is put on display at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
12. "Bodies Electric" – DESIGN SQUAD-ers take a shine to hip-hop artist Wyatt Jackson when they try to create a sound-and-light show triggered by Jackson's moves and grooves. In a live performance, it's DS night at the Strand Theatre!
13. "Winner Takes All" – The season concludes when Continuum (a design consultancy) asks the DS teams to develop and test a "summer sled" for retail giant L.L. Bean. It's a bumpy, downhill slide to the finish line!

Season 1 Points

Before the finale

Name	Points
Noah	0	100, 100	100, 200	30, 230	100, 330	100, 430	100, 530	0, 530	100, 630	0, 630	100, 730	70, 800
Natasha	100	50, 150	100, 250	30, 280	100, 380	100, 480	100, 580	100, 680	100, 780	0, 780	0, 780	30, 810
Krishana	0	50, 50	100, 150	70, 220	0, 220	100, 320	0, 320	100, 420	0, 420	100, 520	100, 620	70, 690
Michael	100	50, 150	100, 250	70, 320	0, 320	100, 420	100, 520	0, 520	100, 620	100, 720	0, 720	30, 750
Kim	100	100, 200	100, 300	70, 370	0, 370	0, 370	100, 470	100, 570	0, 570	0, 570	100, 670	30, 700
Tom	0	50, 50	100, 150	70, 220	100, 320	0, 320	0, 320	0, 320	0, 320	100, 420	100, 520	70, 590
Joey	100	100, 200	100, 300	30, 330	100, 430	0, 430	0, 430	0, 430	0, 430	100, 530	0, 530	30, 560
Giselle	0	100, 100	100, 200	30, 230	0, 230	0, 230	0, 230	100, 330	100, 430	0, 430	0, 430	70, 500

In Week 2, there were 3 band members that picked 3 out of 4 instruments. Each instrument picked was 50 points.
In Week 3, the Judges thought both teams made excellent bikes and gave both teams 100 points.
In Week 4, the Judges thought both teams worked very hard and didn't want winner take all. Because the Red Team needed extra help to finish they split the points 30(red)/70(blue).
In Week 12, Wyatt Jackson (Judge) enjoyed Blue team's performance. However, he also enjoyed Red Team's Light Show, so they split the points 30(blue)/70(red).

In most challenges, each person in the winning team will receive 100 points, the other team 0 points.

Funding

• National Science Foundation
• Intel
• Tyco Electronics
• The National Councils of Examminers for Engineering and Surveying
• The Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• IEEE

Season 2 Cast

1. Dewey
2. Deysi
3. Jason
4. Kim
5. Leah
6. Nick
7. Tomas
8. Trejonda

Season 2 episodes

1. "Cardboard Furniture" – Sit back and relax as the Design Squad teams create innovative, yet practical cardboard furniture for the home goods superstore IKEA. Furniture shoppers take a seat in the judges' chair to decide the season premiere's winning team.
2. "PVC Kayak" – Jump on board as King Island Alaskan native Sean Gallagher challenges the Design Squad teams to build ten-foot kayaks using traditional design but with non-traditional materials.
3. "Green Machines" – The teams go green as they work with the Food Project, an organization that creates social change through sustainable agriculture. Two young Food Project volunteers challenge the teams to design a compost lifter for their urban farm.
4. "Gravity Bikes" – Watch the Design Squad teams go head to head as they build high-speed gravity bikes for Gravity Sports International champion Tom Whalen.
5. "Water Dancing" – Dancer and performance artist Lisa Bufano, a bilateral leg and finger amputee, challenges the teams to build specialized prostheses for an underwater performance.
6. "Backyard Thrill Ride" – The teams bring the adrenaline rush of an amusement park ride to the backyard of 13-year-old Andreas Hoffman.
7. "Big Bugs" – The teams build wooden arthropods for an artist.
8. "Aquatic Robotics" – Dive deep as the teams build a robot that would float on a river-only for tourists and their guides-if they're sailing on a river.
9. "Band Cam" – Fly high with the Design Squad as they build a flying digital camera for a live concert of African band Zili Misik.
10. "No Crying in Baseball" – Come along as the Design Squad builds an onion-grinding machine for a guy who sells hot dogs.
11. "Hockey Net Targets" – Get a hockey puck as the teams build targets for hockey goals.
12. "Offroad Go-Karts 1" – It's part 1 of the season finale as the teams try to build offroad go-karts.
13. "Offroad Go-Karts 2" – It's Dewey versus Leah in a race for the college scholarship as the final episode of Season 2 makes the teams test their go-karts.

Season 2 Points

In most challenges, each person in the winning team will receive 100 points, the other team 0 points.

Name	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Weeks 12/13	Total
Dewey	0	100, 100	0, 100	100, 200	100, 300	100, 400	100, 500	0, 500	100, 600	100, 700	0, 700	0, 700	700
Deysi	100	0, 100	100, 200	0, 200	100, 300	0, 300	0, 300	0, 300	0, 300	100, 400	100, 500	100, 600	600
Tomas	100	100, 200	100, 300	0, 300	0, 300	100, 400	100, 500	0, 500	0, 500	0, 500	100, 600	0, 600	600
Nick	100	0, 100	0, 100	0, 100	0, 100	100, 200	100, 300	0, 300	100, 400	0, 400	100, 500	0, 500	500
Leah	100	100, 200	100, 300	100, 400	0, 400	0, 400	0, 400	0, 400	100, 500	100, 600	100, 700	100, 800	800
Jason	0	0, 0	100, 100	100, 200	100, 300	100, 400	100, 500	0, 500	0, 500	0, 500	0, 500	100, 600	600
Kim	0	100, 100	0, 100	100, 200	100, 300	0, 300	0, 300	0, 300	0, 300	100, 400	100, 500	100, 600	600
Trejonda	0	0, 0	0, 0	0, 0	0, 0	0, 0	0, 0	0, 0	100, 100	0, 100	0, 100	0, 100	100

• In Week 8, neither team was able to complete the task, so no points were awarded.
• Trejonda had the dubious distinction of earning no points until Week 9. As she herself said in the intro to Week 4, "Right now, I feel like the jinx. You know, at first, I thought it was the Green Team title that was the reason I was losing, but now I feel like 'If Trejonda's on your team, you're going to lose.'"
• Leah won the season and a $10,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation.

Funding

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• Intel
• The National Councils of Examminers for Engineering and Surveying
• UEF
• Northrop Grumman
• IEEE

Season 3 Cast

• Ana
• Annelise
• Juan
• Lindsey
• Wes
• Zach
• Wes won the college scholarship after 10 episodes, three of which ("Water Rescue", "sNOw Problem", and the finale "Escape from Misery Island") were two-part.

Funding

• National Science Foundation
• Intel
• The Lemelson Foundation
• UEF
• The National Councils of Examminers for Engineering and Surveying
• ASME
• IEEE
• Northrop Grumman

External links

• Official site

Presence in Brazil

The show premiered in Brazil through the educational channel Futura name at the end of August, and airs every Monday at 10pm. They are currently in season 2.