Annenberg Foundation and Two Bit Circus Foundation Ignite Lifelong Love for Arts and Sciences with Free STEAM-Based Online Projects

Two Bit Circus Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization, announced today it is collaborating with the Annenberg Foundation’s educational division, Annenberg Learner, to provide free access to over 150 hands-on science, arts, and tech projects designed for educators, parents, and children across the country and around the world. This decision to introduce STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) content on Learner.org is in direct response to the overwhelming need for creative and accessible STEAM resources during this unprecedented global crisis. The projects are a solution for continuing student education during the summer and academic school year.

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Two Bit Circus Foundation has been creating innovative STEAM content for over a decade. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the collaboration between Annenberg Learner and Two Bit Circus Foundation, both of whom are passionate about providing educational access to students and educators, and sparking a lifelong love for the arts and sciences. The new STEAM projects are all standards-aligned and come in easily digestible formats for educators, parents, and children to follow using found objects.

Available projects include:

• Brick Playbook: Run Brick Run
  • Use engineering principles to study forces and mass
• Project Playbook: The Egg Drop
  • Engage with engineering and falling objects
• NASA’s BEST Students: Build a Satellite to Orbit the Moon
  • Use the engineering design process to build a satellite that can orbit the moon

“Education needs a revolution,” said Dr. Leah Hanes, CEO of Two Bit Circus Foundation. “Our current situation is pushing us to find new ways of teaching to engage children and help them take agency over their own learning. We’re excited to have Annenberg Learner, a leader in advancing education, share our hands-on curriculum to their wide range of followers, inspiring the next generation of inventors.”

For nearly three decades, Annenberg Learner has funded and distributed multimedia resources for K-12 classroom instruction and teacher professional development. And now, as schools across the country shift to distance learning amidst the effects of COVID-19, Annenberg Learner’s users need more offerings for digital environments, and more project-based learning opportunities. Two Bit Circus Foundation has already seen a positive increase across its online platforms, turning its Twitch channel into daily hands-on maker sessions for students and parents to learn more about STEAM fundamentals, making them an ideal partner.

“Annenberg Learner and its wide range of multimedia educational resources continue to meet the critical needs of students and educators, whether they are schooling in a classroom or at home,” said Cinny Kennard, Executive Director, Annenberg Foundation. “With the addition of Two Bit Circus Foundation’s innovative and fun STEAM program, we are able to provide a high-quality, comprehensive learning experience and valuable content for parents desperate for summer projects that will help spark creativity and love of learning.”

To check out the more than 150 free STEAM based projects now available online, visit Annenberg Learner’s site at https://learner.org/twobitcircusorg.

About the Foundation, Powered by Two Bit

Two Bit Circus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is on a mission to increase access to STEAM education opportunities in communities around the world. A collection of successful STEAM-based programs including Imagination.org, LA Makerspace, Trash for Teachers, and STEAM Carnival, Two Bit Circus Foundation aims to cultivate the next generation of inventors, advance environmental stewardship, and spur community engagement by providing schools and youth of all means with access to hands-on STEAM learning, modern maker tools, and upcycled materials.

Architected for maximum social impact, the organizations are able to expand STEAM education programs worldwide, bringing makerspaces, STEAM Labs, Imagination Chapters, STEAM Carnivals, Cardboard Challenges sparked by Caine’s Arcade, and more to schools, libraries, and at-risk communities worldwide. Imagine a world where creativity and entrepreneurship are core social values nurtured in schools, homes, and communities everywhere, where all children are taught to be creative thinkers and doers, and encouraged to make their very best ideas happen.

For more information, visit www.twobitcircus.org or follow @TwoBitCircusorg and #TwoBitCircus.

About Annenberg Learner

Annenberg Learner is the education division of the Annenberg Foundation, created to advance excellent teaching in American schools. For more than three decades, Annenberg Learner has pursued this mission by funding and distributing multimedia resources, including video, print, and web materials, for the professional development of teachers (K-12 and college levels). These resources in all discipline areas help teachers to stay up-to-date in their fields and to use current learning research in their classrooms. More than 100 multimedia courses and workshops are streamed free through http://www.learner.org. As the name Annenberg Learner implies, its focus is on the teacher, as well as the student, as a learner.

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