littleBits’ Highly Anticipated STEAM Products for Schools and Libraries Available Today

Educator-Approved littleBits STEAM Student Set and littleBits STEAM
Professional Development Bring Invention-Based Learning into the
Classroom, Makerspace or Home

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–littleBits,
the technology startup that is empowering everyone to create
inventions, large and small, with its easy-to-use platform of electronic
building blocks, is leading the charge to bring STEAM education and
invention-based learning to students everywhere with its newest suite of
products designed for educators. The new littleBits STEAM products,
aligned with NSTA Next Generation Science Standards and developed with a
committee of “power” educators, are meant to help both young boys and
girls get excited about invention, feel confident in their ability to
problem-solve, and develop skills that are essential to the jobs of
today as well as those of tomorrow.

Following its debut at SXSWedu in March, the littleBits STEAM Student
Set is now available for purchase online at littlebits.com
and in Barnes & Noble stores across the country. The littleBits STEAM
Student Set engages a student’s natural love of play and curiosity
through invention-based learning. The toolbox supports learners in
grades 3-8 with 19 Bits–littleBits’ electronic building blocks–plus 38
accessories, a 72-page Student Invention Guide and a comprehensive
littleBits Teacher’s Guide with detailed companion lessons,
implementation strategies, curricular connections and more.

Today littleBits also launches littleBits
STEAM PD, a hands-on professional development course that equips
educators with all of the skills they need to bring littleBits and STEAM
teaching to the classroom. littleBits STEAM PD is an online
course for teachers and administrators looking for instruction on how to
add fun and hands-on STEAM learning to their 3rd through 8th grade
curriculum. Experienced STEAM educators and newbies alike walk away with
the tools to create lessons that are customized for their students and
engage them in collaboration and problem-solving. The self-paced,
interactive course encourages self-reflection with a customized action
plan for every participant. Educators receive a PDU (Professional
Development Unit) certificate upon completion.

“[STEAM] is an area where there aren’t many experts out there who can
help us…this [professional development] course gave the teachers more
ideas and more confidence in using littleBits,” said Sergio Anaya,
Curriculum Supervisor for the Colonial School District in Montgomery
County, Pennsylvania.

In response to growing demand from school and district-wide littleBits
programs, littleBits has introduced littleBits STEAM Education Class
Packs, collections of STEAM Student Sets that support groups of 16,
24 and 32 learners in grades 3-8. littleBits STEAM Education Class Packs
include tackle boxes for easy storage as well as comprehensive student
and teacher guides to provide an ideal invention-based learning tool for
the classroom, both for self-guided instruction and group collaboration.

“It is evident that littleBits has listened to educators and our
ever-pressing need for clear instructions,” said Colleen Graves, a
middle school teacher and librarian. “I love the last section of the
[Student Invention Guide] manual… There are four open challenges
encouraging students to “Hack Your Classroom,” “Invent for Good,” invent
a Rube Goldberg-like contraption, and lastly, a “Hack Your Habits”
challenge. I’m hoping to institute the “Invent for Good” challenge at my
own library and see if my own students can “invent a product to make a
difference in someone else’s life.”

As announced this spring, the largest school district in the country,
the New York City Department of Education, will be using the littleBits
STEAM Student Set as one of the learning tools for 2,100 students in
grades 2-5 in its Summer in the City STEM enrichment program.

PRODUCT DETAILS

littleBits STEAM Student Set
Release: April 2016
MSRP:
$299.95, 5% Discount for Educators
Ages: 8+
Available: Online
at littleBits.com,
in-store exclusively at Barnes & Noble and for educational institutions
via CDW•G

littleBits STEAM Education Class Packs
Collections of STEAM
Student Sets with tackle boxes for easy storage that support groups of
16, 24 and 32 learners in grades 3-8. Customized solutions are available
for larger classroom sizes. Call (917) 464-4577 to speak to a littleBits
education expert.
Ages: 8+
Release: April 2016
Available: littleBits.com,
CDW•G

For 16 Students (includes 4 littleBits STEAM Student Sets and 1 Tackle
Box)
MSRP: $1,199.95, 5% Discount for Educators

For 24 Students (includes 6 littleBits STEAM Student Sets and 2 Tackle
Boxes)
MSRP: $1,779.95, 5% Discount for Educators

For 32 Students (includes 8 littleBits STEAM Student Sets and 3 Tackle
Boxes)
MSRP: $2,349.95, 5% Discount for Educators

littleBits STEAM PD
A 6-hour online professional development
course that supports teachers integrating STEAM into their classrooms,
providing a PDU certificate upon completion
MSRP: $199.95, 5%
Discount for Educators
Available: littlebits.com/steam-pd

Interested in becoming a littleBits reseller? Email wholesales@littlebits.cc.

About littleBits

littleBits is the New York-based hardware startup that is on a mission
to Democratize Hardware by empowering everyone—of any gender, age
or technical background—to Create Inventions, large and small,
with its innovative platform of easy-to-use Electronic Building Blocks.
The company’s innovative building blocks snap together with magnets to
allow anyone to build, invent, and prototype with electronics
independent of age, gender and technical background. From
classrooms to homes, littleBits is driving excitement for
invention-based learning through design challenges and in-classroom
curriculum. The company is also dedicated to successfully bridging the
gender gap with its gender-neutral platform, inspiring young girls and
young boys to unleash their creativity and embrace STEAM (Science,
Technology, Art and Mathematics) through the invention cycle. littleBits
is being used by more than 12,000 educators across the world as an
engaging tool for making STEAM more accessible to all students and
preparing them for the jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

The company was founded in 2011 by MIT graduate, TED Senior Fellow and
cofounder of the Open Hardware Summit, Ayah Bdeir, and has grown to be a
global leader in hardware. Bdeir was named one of Fast Company’s Most
Creative People in Business, one of one of Inc.’s “35 Under 35” and
“Entrepreneurs to Watch,” one of Entrepreneur’s “10 Leaders to Watch,”
one of Popular Mechanics’ “25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American
Dream,” and one of MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35. The
littleBits platform includes more than 9 kits and 67 interoperable
modules with millions of products sold to over 150 countries around the
world. The littleBits invention app takes inventing to new levels with
thousands of additional invention ideas and challenges. The company was
named in CNN’s “Top 10 Startups to Watch”, one of the CNBC Next List,
and has been profiled by the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Wired, Popular
Mechanics. To learn more, visit littleBits.com.

About STEAM/STEM

While the STEM movement—a call to elevate the studies of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics as a national priority—began to
take shape in 2006, a separate push to add the arts to that equation,
transforming STEM to STEAM, followed soon after. By integrating art and
design with STEM subjects, schools are working to strengthen students’
abilities to be creative and flexible problem-solvers, to explore
different ideas, to recognize failures as opportunities for discovery
and to communicate well with others. With STEAM projects, students learn
by inventing, creating and designing—and understanding the true meaning
of human-centered design.

Contacts

For littleBits
Beth Mellow, 212-981-5143
Beth_Mellow@dkcnews.com