It’s Pi Day! We’re not sure how the mathematical constant is celebrating, but for us here at Sesame Workshop it’s a great opportunity to look back at Philip Glass’ “Geometry of Circles,” an animated short from 1979 set to the music of the famous minimalist composer. Using interesting animated shorts like “Geometry of Circles” to explain mathematical concepts is just one of the ways we help prepare children for their primary and secondary education. The origins of a child’s ability to understand complex concepts like pi (when you think about it, the notion of a number with an infinite decimal representation is, in the truest sense of the word, awesome) lies in the introduction to numeracy and basic mathematics that Sesame Street strives to provide.
Happy Pi Day! There ain’t no party like an irrational number party because an irrational number party don’t stop (literally).
Sesame Street Partners with 100Kin10 Movement to Promote STEM Education
Sesame Workshop is excited to announce that we are now officially part of the 100Kin10 movement, a collection of non-profits, government agencies, corporations and universities working to recruit and retain 100,000 new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teachers over the next ten years.
STEM education is already a major part of the Sesame Street curriculum. For two laughter-filled years we’ve incorporated STEM education into the show. STEM lessons are also integral to our online content, outreach initiatives and efforts to work with pre-school educators. For years our team of childhood development specialists has been refining our multi-platform STEM curriculum to make sure it’s not only fun but effective. That’s part of the reason why we are in a unique position to meet the challenges of teaching critical STEM knowledge and skills to children through the involvement of their teachers, parents and caregivers. Helping raise a generation of children that is excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics is a critical part of our mission.
That mission is why we partnered with the 100kin10 movement. Founded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Opportunity Equation and NewSchools Venture Fund, the movement has brought together dozens of organizations that are concerned about the future of STEM education in the United States. Every organization brings something unique to the table. Sesame Workshop is proud to bring our expertise in early childhood education and firmly held belief that it’s never too early to encourage kids to be excited about science and math.
