SPLATs: A Revolutionary Encounter Between Education, Technology, Fitness and Fun

A program created by Unruly Studios who is dedicated to creating children’s toys that promote active education and STEM learning.

As each SPLATs lit up with different colors, so did the faces of our students who beamed with pride, joy, and curiosity as they began their unique SPLATs journey. SPLATs is a remarkable tool that exposed students to various STEM careers and academic pathways as they sharpened their skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. SPLATs didn’t just keep the students moving intellectually, they also were able to exercise physically. Some games focused on trivia, and others were speed-based competitions or obstacle courses. “Giraffes and Leaves” a game created by Mahdiat and Makayla allowed students to imagine they were in a safari, crawling over and around SPLATs as they ‘gathered leaves’ with their heads.

Unruly Splats are programmable floor tiles that pair with a tablet pre-loaded with tons of recess-style play games. Kids first play the pre-loaded games then they change the code, ultimately learning how to code on their own through active, recess-style play.

With these empowering technologies, our students worked to master not only their 21st-century skills but their socio-emotional skills in a dynamic manner seldom seen in classroom technologies. The room was constantly overflowing with creative ingenuity and skillful autonomy as students created and tinkered with codes of their creations. Each game the students produced had clear objectives and rules. Each class provided the opportunity for the students to partake in fun student-led and student-created games and competitions.

We are truly grateful for the partnership with Unruly Studios as well as generous donations from organizations such as the All Points North Foundation which allows us to provide learning environments liberated from the constraints of traditional classrooms. The sounds of SPLATs will forever be ingrained as highlights of our educational careers that signaled the radical shift of students from passive consumers to active producers of technological content. We look forward to Unruly Studios to continue to interrupt the education landscapes with their exciting and new products.