Can an assortment of toys teach children about electricity, circuits and even computer code? Yes, according to Microduino Inc. The Westlake Village manufacturer makes magnetic stackable modules with special functions such as motor circuits, sensors, GPS and Wi-Fi. The components are compatible with Lego Group products, so children can use both Legos and Microduino components to assemble structures. The toys have an educational function, with the company hoping to ride the wave of enthusiasm for STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in classrooms. “We see education as a pretty strong opportunity,” said Bridge Carney, director of worldwide sales at Microduino. “Our product may appear simplistic, but it’s deep in its capability to help students understand complexities.” The company is in the process of aligning its products with educational standards, which guide school curriculums. Once those standards are met, Microduino will meet with educational product distributors to send out samples and conduct beta testing in school districts. The products have already been tested in Simi Valley School District’s after school program, and the response has been positive, said Carney. Microduino hopes that aligning its products with the standards will give its products a boost to become part of the curriculum rather than be sidelined as a hobby product. “These standards are developed by professionals in the educational arena,” said Carney. “We needed to be aligned with the goodness valued in these standards.” Maker culture Microduino originally started in China about four years ago, as a manufacturer of components for hobbyists who love to make things on their own. The company initially gained success in the growing area called the maker space, which sits somewhere between consumer electronics and toys. Currently there are 17 maker fairs in the U.S. and a lot more in the world, said Carney. The maker space today isn’t your typical hobbyists coming together for an arts and craft event with popsicle sticks or beads. Instead, it’s a combination hack-a-thon and science fair where innovation and ingenuity shine. “Lots of kids are intrigued and entranced by putting technology and things together,” said Carney. For example, in a recent UCLA Idea Hacks event, students used Microduino sensors to create a helmet that can sense when a concussion may have occurred. In another instance, Britain’s International Centre for Birds of Prey created a prototype of an artificial egg that can be used to incubate baby birds. The EggDuino, as it was named, was made with sensors from the company. This culture of do-it-yourself innovation has been dubbed the maker movement, spawning dedicated publications and makers who eventually become entrepreneurs. Organizations like National Robotics Education Foundation, or NREF, has long been pushing the idea that robotics can be taught in school as a curriculum, rather than becoming one of many after school activities. Donald Mazzella, a board member at NREF, said the benefits of STEM education is far reaching, from lowering dropout rates among students and fulfilling career needs. There are over 150,000 robotics-related jobs that go unfilled, he said. According to Mazzella, products need to excite and engage children to be effective at teaching STEM. “Successful ones are the ones where the toy has a response mechanism,” he said. “A child does something and toy responds in return. That’s how you get people to engage.” How it works Microduino products are designed to do just that. While all of the company’s toys are sold separately, beginners can purchase product kits, which ease them into the complex world of STEM. The kits are usually just under $100 with the exception of larger kits like Itty Bitty City, which can run around $130. Itty Bitty City is one of the company’s most popular products, designed for beginners. The kit allows users to build cities with animated windmills, lighthouses and a smart car, which can be programmed to weave around the streets. All products come with a Lego form factor, so that users can attach moving parts to already constructed buildings. Another beginner kit, mPuzzle, contains components and instruction cards for 12 different projects. The kit, aimed at children around age 5, includes a 150-page story book. Each chapter of the book puts the children in a real-life situation and encourages them to use logic to figure out a solution. Tasks can be as simple as inserting a battery into a small flash light. The idea is to teach the basic concept of cause and effect. The intermediate kit mPie teaches more advanced concepts like basic circuitry and wire connections. For example, a student can create a motorized fly swatter by connecting with wires and batteries to a button, which will eventually trigger a plastic hand to swat in the blink of an eye. While the kits come with set project cards, users are encouraged to come up with their own projects, once they become familiar with the concepts. The goal is to move the student up through basic circuitry all the way to programming, where students can utilize coding skills to command their creations to do more complicated tasks. To enter the educational market, the company needed to make sure its products align with new STEM education guidelines that have been implemented in a majority of states, said Carney. The Next Generation Science Standards was established in 2013, setting the framework for K-12 science education. Since then, 18 states have adopted the standards with a dozen more adopting them with a few modifications. According to David Evans, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, the new standard is a shift from your typical written standards. “The children have to now demonstrate what they know,” said Evans. “Students will now have to gather evidence to develop a model that would describe a phenomenon.” Evans added that the standards come down to expectations for students, not products. However, a specific product may be used as a tool by educators to help students achieves the standards. Carney at Microduino said that’s essentially what the company’s products are designed to do – allow students to demonstrate technology. Eventually, Microduino plans to produce toys that teach more than technology. “There will be new products that will branch out to STEM and music, or STEM and art,” said Carney. “As students reach 11, 12 grades, they will start to want to specialize.” Fun factor It would be a challenge for any startup to disrupt the $20 billion toy industry through traditional distribution channels. But Microduino has an advantage in that STEM toys are all the rage with parents these days. According to Jim Silver, founder of Toys, Tots, Pets & More, a toy review site, STEM toys have been expanding, at times under different terminologies like learning games or coding games. “It’s definitely a growing category as parents are looking for more of them,” said Silver. “But it’s not necessarily what kids are looking for.” Competition in educational space is fierce, as large and familiar companies like Lego are also launching learning-related products. For example, Lego Boost, launched this year, is aimed at kids ages 7 and up. It comes with an accompanying app that guides the user through the process of building a robot or a vehicle. Once built, the app will connect via Bluetooth to the creation, allowing children to command the machine through drag-and-drop coding. Another challenge comes in educating the educators. After all, STEM toys are not about miraculously teaching children new skills. It is about aiding in learning the basics, said Silver. “You can go back to learning toys like Leapfrog, which didn’t teach kids but aided kids on how to read,” said Silver. “Coding is going to be an important skill, and yes, toys can aid in elements of how you code.” Evans of National Science Teachers Association said new STEM standards set for children also means helping educators understand that they need to teach differently. “In the last four years we have been developing materials to approach new teaching standards,” said Evans. “There have been large educational programs for teachers to help meet the standards.” In anticipation of educating the educators, Microduino, has created a series of online videos that walk users through basic installation. Most of the codes used to control its products are open source, meaning there is usually an established community that can help each other. Carney at Microduino thinks aligned standards along with support from the company will prove attractive to teachers. “We want teachers to be able to say, ‘I want this for my class,’” he said.
