Bristol Elementary Students Combine PE and Coding with Unruly Splats

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Jan 12, 2023, 08:49 ET

BRISTOL, Conn., Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, students in the Bristol Public School District literally jumped into learning to code with Unruly Splats, a STEM education tool that combines coding and active play. Using an iPad or Chromebook, students can code Unruly Splats to create games that promote movement and collaboration.

Bristol Public Schools PE teacher shows student the code that is powering the game he's playing with Unruly Splats.

"We're always looking for ways to innovate and bring our PE department to new heights," said Sara Hale, the Bristol Public Schools Dean of Physical Education and Health. "With Unruly Splats, we can bring computer science education into a context where students least expect it–PE class."

Students at the Greene-Hills School were the first in the district to use Unruly Splats, which look like big programmable floor buttons that students stomp on to light up, make sounds, and collect points for games like relay races and whack-a-mole.

"I've never taught coding before, but Unruly Splats make it easy to get started with pre-programmed games you'd see in a typical PE class," said Devin Pecevich, a PE teacher at the Greene-Hills School. "Once the students are comfortable with that, they can learn to code games of their own design."

All eight elementary schools in the district now have access to Unruly Splats in PE. The teachers plan to continue using Unruly Splats to inspire play and exploration in the form of building and playing their own games.

Unruly Splats help schools fulfill a range of high priority objectives including:

Hands-on teacher training and support: School memberships come with lesson plans developed by teachers and professional development to ensure teachers are empowered to incorporate STEM into their classrooms.
Cross-curricular coding: Unruly Splats allow teachers to incorporate coding into any subject, including PE, general education, science, and even music!
Recess-like play combined with STEM: The games kids play with Unruly Splats encourage physical movement, helping to combat a decades long drop in active play for children.

"Computer science education is often intimidating and sedentary. We want to flip those stereotypes on their head and inspire kids to try coding who didn't think it was for them," said Bryanne Leeming, Founder and CEO of Unruly Studios, the maker of Unruly Splats.

To learn more, visit www.unrulysplats.com.

About Unruly Studios

Unruly Studios is the creator of Unruly Splats, the first STEM learning tool that combines coding with active play. Unruly Studios' vision is to create an electronic playground that makes learning more playful, collaborative, and inclusive. The team is made up of experts in cognitive science, toy manufacturing, education, and technology who bring broad industry experience from Scratch, Hasbro, Mattel, Nickelodeon, iRobot, Disney, and MIT Media Lab.

Media Contact:
Charlotte Ward
(530) 563-6860
[email protected]

SOURCE Unruly Studios