Everyone loves a carnival. Two Bit Circus is looking to launch one of its very own — but with a twist. On Tuesday, the innovation think tank launched a Kickstarter campaign to create perhaps the first-ever education-focused carnival.
The goal: to help inspire children and students about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) learning. It’s seeking to raise $100,000.
If you’re not familiar with Two Bit Circus, this is the group perhaps known for most recently creating the Rube Goldberg machine for the OK Go music video. In fact, that video is what helped to create this Carnival. It’s not about inventing things just for fun, but to help educate people. This project is meant to help address the decline of high school and college graduates graduating in STEAM-related programs.
Two Bit Circus co-founder and CEO Brent Bushnell says that “when you say the word ‘engineering’ to most kids they zone out. But when you say ‘lasers, robots, and fire,’ you have their undivided attention.”
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Through the use of high-tech games, the group hopes to spark the imagination of kids on what else could they do with a science and engineering background — perhaps they’ll invent the next big thing of their time?
The STEAM Carnival is a traveling show, going from town to town in the US starting in Los Angeles in spring 2014. Two Bit Circus has assembled several games already and plans on including creative competitions, a digital art gallery, a concert by musical robots, and a wearable electronics fashion show. In addition, leveraging audience participation, children can request one of several invention kits that they can use to jumpstart their “amusement-focused technical projects”.
In looking to give back, Two Bit Circus aims to donate the same kits to low-income communities so that those children have the same opportunity to grow up and succeed like anyone else.
Obviously with Kickstarter projects, backers take some risk in funding projects that they hope will come to fruition. It has to be said that many probably do not see the actual light of day because of a lack of funding. However, there are those that do, including those that have exceeded their fundraising goals many times over. It goes without saying that Two Bit Circus hopes emulate Kickstarter’s most successful projects, such as Pebble smartwatch, Veronica Mars movie campaign, and many other successful projects.
➤ STEAM Carnival on Kickstarter
Main header image credit: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: Two Bit Circus
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