Purdue University-Affiliated Startup Explore Interactive Expanding Through Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry • May 29, 2021
  • Explore Interactive, a Purdue University-affiliated startup that markets augmented reality-powered and gamified learning sets, announced it partnered with PASCO Scientific to distribute its MindLabs product around the globe.

Explore Interactive is a Purdue University-affiliated startup that markets augmented reality-powered and gamified learning sets in order to help students in grades 3-5 better understand science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Recently, the company entered an agreement with PASCO Scientific to distribute its MindLabs product around the globe.

MindLabs will be sold in English-language markets as part of the PASCO Blueprint packages for summer and year-long learning enrichment in the sciences. And the Blueprint packages are especially of interest for schools and districts with access to ESSERIII educational grant funding within the American Rescue Plan — which are available online.

Amanda Thompson, CEO of Explore Interactive, and her team conducted educational studies with researchers at the INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering at Purdue under SBIR funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and matching funds from Elevate Ventures.

And Explore Interactive has received support and guidance from the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub housed in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Purdue’s Discovery Park District (adjacent to the Purdue campus).

KEY QUOTES:

“As an established leader and global innovator of educational STEM products, PASCO Scientific is the perfect partner,” she said. “Together, we envision a future where high-quality digital interactions, like our MindLabs AR, are integrated with hands-on STEM experiences to maximize student learning outcomes. PASCO’s global network of educators will accelerate the adoption of MindLabs worldwide, enabling us to nurture young learners everywhere.”

— Amanda Thompson, CEO of Explore Interactive

“As a growing innovator in science education, MindLabs’ creative approach is a game-changer for young learners. The integration of augmented reality into hands-on science creates a new dynamic that makes it easier for younger students to explore complex concepts, like electricity and circuits, through play,” Briscoe said. “Through our partnership with MindLabs, we hope to encourage early excitement around science in students around the world while helping them develop foundational literacy in science and STEM concepts.”

— Richard Briscoe, president and CEO of PASCO Scientific