When it comes to getting kids interested in learning, nothing beats unabashed trickery. And robots.
The gals at Snapology are taking that fact and turning it into a curriculum that fosters genuine enthusiasm for the hard sciences. Through teamwork, problem-solving skills and LEGO® blocks.
This is the beauty of Snapology – when kids are presented with lessons that aren’t boring as hell, they engage. It’s like magic or something.
“Our goal is to create an environment where kids are having fun and they don’t realize they’re learning while they’re doing it,” Lisa Coe said.
Her sister and co-creator, Laura Barrows, takes it one step further and instructs teachers not to even mention the word “educational” to their students. They just don’t need to know.
So how does it work? Laura and Lisa design entire lesson plans around LEGO® construction kits, the complexity of which rise with the age of the kids. (Some of their kits involve moving parts, electronics and motion sensors. Solar panels and windmills to be introduced this fall.) To build the kits, kids follow instructions on specialized laptops. Variations like sound effects and other retrofitting options encourage creativity, while working with partners allows for problem solving and conflict resolution.
And when they’re done, the kids have built a LEGO® soccer goalie that can block shots on net. We’re adults and we’re impressed with that.
In other words, Snapology is a portable powerhouse of education. They accommodate camps, clubs, home school classes, in-school field trips, birthday parties, play dates and girl/boy scout troops.
You might say, they’re just piggybacking off LEGO® products. Au contraire. The brilliance of Snapology is in the design, the lesson plans, the total restructuring of education. Laura and Lisa are honing this method over the next year with the cooperation of teachers and students. Then, franchising and expansion.
And Hollywood. Or, more likely, YouTube.
Their SnapAnimation class allows kids to make their own 2-minute films, frame by frame. Better throw narrative, filmmaking and Internet skills on the already long list.
Just, for heaven’s sake, don’t tell the little rascals. It’d be a shame to ruin such a beautiful thing.
Keywords: Challenger Brand News, Challenger Brands, children's education, curriculum, education, Fitting Group, Lego, Pittsburgh, robots, SnapAnimation, Snapology, YouTube
Marketing at their open house was a disaster. No one greeted the parents coming in. You walked in and all you saw were folding tables with cheap green plastic cloths on them, the face painter and doors leading to different rooms. There was no one to point you in any direction, you just had to explore on your own. Our first stop was a room covered in Legos and open windows with no screens or other safety mechanisms. This place was on a 2nd floor and one of the open windows actually had a car ramp beside it that any toddler could have crawled up to. We finally meet someone who seemed to be a staff person in the robotics room. I saw seemed to because she never introduced herself and she didn’t have any identify clothes or badges on. She did tell us about some of the programs but you couldn’t sign up on site. We did wait around while our child played and I was surprised to finally realize that one of the owners was in the main room. She wasn’t dress professionally and she only seemed interested in talking to her friends who were there. She never tried to talk to us. By the time we left, her family’s food from McDonald’s was sitting on the buffet with the food for the guests which seemed a little gross. I had gone with the intent of signing up and left wondering if I could trust these people with my child.
Dear Visitor,
We were really jazzed with the idea of Snapology – all of the education and science and fun stuff – so we’re very sorry to hear you had this experience. However, these companies are not our clients, just ones we’ve decided to cover based on Challenger Brand-ness. So if you’d really like to enact some change, you might try contacting Snapology directly. Who knows, you might be really helping them out.
Thanks very much for your comment and we hope you’ll continue to stop back and chat with us. Or hey, make a career out of it – http://ht.ly/38Qhk .
Thanks again!
Wow. I’m surprised to read the feedback above from the open house. We were there earlier in the day and had a wonderful experience. The robotics demonstrations were really interesting. We’ve been back several times and noticed that they keep adding different activities for the children. There are safety latches on the windows too. Not sure if they were there before or recently added. My children love it there and we are grateful to have a place to take them for creative play. I know they are a new company so maybe they’re just working out a few kinks. I think you should give them another try. It seems very safe. I’d recommend them to anyone!
Dear Thankful,
We’re happy you had a better experience than Visitor and that you took the time to add to the conversation.
Many thanks – Peace, Brand Spanking & Legos to all!
[...] Snapology [...]