RePlayMyPlay, a Micro Spark project led by Deren Guler, has been named a finalist in the KaBOOM! Promote Your Project Design Contest. Deren’s design is in competition with playgrounds from around the country for equipment grants worth up to $5,000. Congratulations Deren on making it this far! Awards are made by public ballot and the […]

Sprout will host an information session for all interested Spark applicants on Saturday, May 22, 2010 from 9:00-11:00AM at the Waffle Shop in East Liberty. Join us, over yummy waffles, to learn more about Spark and begin working on an application in time for the June 4, 2010 submission deadline. This is a chance to […]

On Saturday, March 20th, Sprout’s Funding Programs Manager Mac Howison joined host Larry Berger on the Saturday Light Brigade to discuss Spark grant opportunities and recently funded projects. Joining Mac on the show were Micro Spark award winners Joe Wos of the Toonseum, and Deren Guler from RePlayMyPlay. Joe and Deren, as well as Larry […]

Come see the Fred Forward Innovation Showcase featuring 4 Spark-funded projects this weekend at The Children’s Museum! Join Sprout from 12 noon—4 pm on Saturday March 20 and Sunday March 21  for this special one-time-only Innovation Showcase demonstrating some of our region’s most unique and creative applications of technology to learning. Sponsored by The Fred […]

Our friends at the Environmental Charter School near Frick Park in Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood are hosting “an evening of interactive playground exploration,” on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 7:00 PM. In addition to screening a short documentary about Pittsburgh playgrounds,  visitors can participate in hands on activities including: Where We Play and What We […]

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is looking for young photographers to represent the Pittsburgh region and the United States for the International Heritage Photographic Experience, (IHPE), an enormous project involving 200,000 in 66 countries spanning across 4 continents. Interpreting the theme of heritage in the broadest possible sense, young photographers have captured nearly 1.3 million […]

Starting this Saturday, January 30, 2010,  the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh opens a new exhibit celebrating all things Pittsburgh with hands-on activities that let kids repair one of the city’s renowned bridges, design their own fireworks display, create new Pittsburghese phrases, invent a wacky sandwich … and much more! The weekend-long activities include featured programming […]

Pittsburgh start-up Electric Owl Studios are the subject of a profile in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review covering the development and deployment of the Kid’s Interactive Creation Kiosk, or KICK, game system used in hospital waiting rooms across the country. Today, there are 55 kiosks in 35 different hospital waiting rooms in 23 states across the country. […]

I read two great articles in the New York Times this week about innovation in elementary education and early childhood. One article highlights a school in New Haven that is utilizing art installations as teaching tools for math and science. The school, which was constructed last year, has integrated all kinds of high-quality art works […]

Making Sparks is Spark’s unique forum exploring how technology and innovation can transform the lives of young children in our region. It will also kick off the 2009 Super Spark funding round, Spark’s annual funding program awarding grants of up to $50,000 to collaborative projects impacting young children through technology and media – focusing this […]

On May 29th, 2009, Spark announced its first funding awards. Four projects received support through its first round of Micro Spark grants. Spark’s projects use technology to enrich the lives of children with a wide array of rich interactive experiences, from outdoor exploration to parental communication. The four following projects are the first to receive […]

On Wednesday, April 22nd I hosted the first-ever Spark Starter networking happy hour at The Sprout Fund’s office in Garfield. During the two hour event, media literacy specialist Teresa Foley gave a presentation on her work connecting technology to education and everyday media experiences. Teresa’s work centers on the use of accessible, affordable commercial technologies […]

On Sunday, April 5th, I attended a special community preview of the new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The community day was an opportunity for community members to visit the hospital’s new site in Lawrenceville and learn about some of the changes that will make Children’s more patient- and family-friendly. Green practices, technology, and design play […]

Pop City Media posted a story about the launch of Spark: Spark provides funding for projects and initiatives that will energize children ages birth to eight in the creative use of technology and the media. Individuals, organizations, teachers, startups, artists—everyone, actually—will be challenged to think about early childhood education and technology in a new,exciting way. […]