You may know that Sphero and littleBits are among two of our favorite brands for advancing STEAM education in the classroom, library, or makerspace. You might also know that Sphero’s spherical robots and their newest one, the RVR, are programmable using engaging computer science concepts and the Sphero Edu app while littleBits helps kids understand the important elements of circuitry by snapping together various combinations of their magnetic blocks to construct circuits. What you might not realize, however, is that Sphero and littleBits are now one.
Back in August, the Sphero team acquired littleBits and the two have gone on as one company since then. They announced that they wanted to be the company that was able to provide the No. 1 STEAM and coding solution for educators, librarians, and afterschool leaders. Drawing on the success that each company has had in hands-on learning, they made the decision to merge. They'll now be able to better enable invention and problem solving through play and technology.
Since they've always shared the goal of inspiring the creators and inventors of tomorrow, it’s no surprise that they've joined. Since Sphero has absorbed littleBits, the additions they gained helped make them the largest EdTech player in the market. They now offer over 140 items and are providing educators with access to tons of content for the classroom and home learning, including activities, lessons, and networks. With many committed educators backing each brand, the partnership definitely looks to be something special.
The Sphero and littleBits offerings have remained the same, through the new RVR robot did start shipping recently. At the heart of Sphero’s line of coding and robotics tools remains the BOLT Robot. It empowers upper elementary and middle school students to learn coding and other STEM concepts. The SPRK+ and new-and-improved Sphero Mini remain their top options for early elementary school. They're great options for introducing students to programming a robot from a connected device.
As for littleBits, their classroom packs of magnetic building blocks provide all sorts of hands-on, MakerEd opportunities for students. Their offerings are also standards-aligned with their own sets of curated educator materials. The littleBits Code Kit, for example, combines engineering, circuitry, and programming, allowing students to build unique inventions they can then control with code they create online! And, like Sphero, littleBits offers classroom solutions for the Code Kit and their STEAM Student Set – all of which are our store.
Sphero launched in 2010 and its headquarters remain in Boulder, CO. Up until this acquisition, littleBits had been located in New York since its incorporation in 2011. As we head into 2020, we look forward to continuing to work very closely with these two fantastic companies. We're excited that they've now become one and will pass along any updates as they're released. In the meantime, we wish everyone a happy holiday season and remind you to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news!