In a world of ever-evolving skills and technology, we all want to provide our kids the best educational, yet fun, toys to set them up for success in the classroom.
A new game is aiming to do just that by arming the next generation of digital creators with critical skills through the creation of Unruly Splats, an active STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) play experience that’s fun for young kids — and it involves minimal screentime!
It’s the first product from Boston-based Unruly Studios, founded by Bryanne Leeming in 2015. Inspired by her interactions with coding at a young age, Leeming set out to create an educational toy that inspires and engages kids using STEM — not just through digital play and screen time, but physical play as well.
“Unruly Splats offers recess-style games and gameplay where it’s social and engages with other kids as opposed to a solitary experience,” Leeming said. “This is a game that empowers kids with critical STEM skills while still encouraging physical play and social engagement.”
Unruly Splats was designed with kids in mind. The 9-inch by 9-inch programmable mat features a blob-shaped LED center that lights up with a variety of bright and fun colors. The Splat connects to a tablet or mobile device (through a free app available on iOS and Android platforms) and is geared toward kids 6 and older. Unruly Splats recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help get the product to market by late 2018.
“The goal of Unruly Splats is to teach kids how to code their own games and play them with friends,” said Leeming, who tested the game with 2,500 children, parents and educators. “We are exposing them to coding in a fun and interactive way that gets them moving.”
Unruly Splats uses an easy-to-understand, block-based language so that kids may drag and drop blocks to program and code games and rules for their Splats. The possibilities are endless! From hopscotch, obstacle courses, dance routines, musical instruments and more, Unruly Splats engages kids to be creative and create their own games, while moving and interacting with others. Kids can even code in basic words to make the Splat speak and upload their own sounds!
Unruly Splats is currently available for purchase by making a donation to Leeming’s Kickstarter campaign — but hurry! The campaign closes Nov. 3. An early-bird campaign pledge of $99 will get you two Splats loaded with 50 game categories, which Leeming told us will arrive in Oct. 2018 — just in time for the holiday season!
“Technology is changing at a rapid pace, and we want kids to have a basic sense of how computers work, how to solve problems creatively, to be OK with taking risks,” Leeming said. “Unruly Splats exposes them to the process of how things work, logically, how to think computationally and how to solve problems in anything they do. That’s the exact process they are going to need in whatever they grow up to do.”
Leeming’s long-term goal is to partner with online retailers like Amazon and sell a two-pack of Splats for $149. Click here to contribute to the Kickstarter campaign. For more information on Unruly Splats, visit the Unruly Studios website.
