Rock and robots

In a profile in Popular Mechanics, David Howard writes that Brent Bushnell and his cofounder Eric Gradman of Two-Bit Circus -- self-professed "giant nerds" -- aim to make STEM more attractive to kids through their STEAM Carnival (added A for Art), which recently debuted in a 50,000-square-foot Los Angeles warehouse. The carny is a "Trojan horse," Howard says, for the STEM curriculum: Lure kids with attractions they're drawn to -- robots, interactive experiences, contests, prizes, and games -- and fill their heads with the science they never knew they wanted to know. STEAM games include a motion-capture mechanical bull, a laser-maze limbo, a Jacob's ladder game that sends lightning-bolt voltage up the pole to ring the bell, and more. Unlike traditional carny games, whose secrets are concealed, the STEAM versions have engaging explanations of their underlying science and technology. A curriculum for participating schools has six weeks of hands-on learning. "There's all this crazy, awesome stuff you can do now," Bushnell says. "In a weekend, we can build a robot that controls [things] in outer space. If kids had a better sense of what was possible, they would be excited about it, too. We believe it's the new rock and roll." More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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