Looking back at 2024
As we look back at 2024, we learned so much from our colleagues and partners through both working together and by attending educational conferences! Now as the year winds down, we want to highlight just a few areas for us- awards, partnerships, and product development.
Awards
WaterWays, our immersive, interactive science curriculum supplement for students in grades 3-5 won “Trailblazer: Early Learning (Pre-K to 6)” in the Educators Pick Best of STEM 2024 Awards! This was particularly exciting for us as the judges were all educators. It also led to this lovely write-up in the National Educators Association that described WaterWays as follows:
WaterWays, a product focused on environmental education, teaches students about water conservation through interactive simulations. By addressing a critical global issue, WaterWays not only educates students about the importance of water conservation, it also empowers them to think critically about how they can contribute to solving problems their generation will face. As one educator observed, “WaterWays’ focus on real-world environmental issues makes it an invaluable tool for teaching students about the impactof their actions on the planet.”
Partnerships
We also developed our first WaterWays-based partnership with Science Friday, an organization we have long admired!
We launched a unique educational resource called “Water Journeys through City Sewers” and were thrilled that it was the #3 educational resource this week, which is incredible! The top two are always binary code and paper airplanes, so #3 is a really, really strong response.
Product Development
We’ve been hard at work on VenomCoLab this year. It is our first collaborative product, which means that the process of testing and iteratively developing has been new for us too! We piloted extensively within schools in the NYC area, before launching our first Randomized Control Trial. Although we won’t have results until 2025, recruiting the 40 teachers who represent nearly 4000 students from across the country was quite an accomplishment for 2024! The students piloting VenomCoLab include urban, suburban, and rural areas from 21 different states across the country!
Looking back at 2024, we are so grateful for all our partners and collaborators- from teachers, to students, to colleagues, to researchers, to science experts. Our work is only possible with your support!