“We offer over a 100 lesson plans on different topics and we want to make sure our brand reflects that as well.”
Break down the word Ardusat, examine the sum of its parts, and this is what you find: arduino, an open-source platform for building electronics projects; and satellite, a machine launched into space that can transmit data back to earth.
Break down the founding of Ardusat as a company and you’ll arrive in a similar place: a business that sought to teach kids the value of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education, with outer space and sensor kits as the learning tools.
“We started out with the mission of getting more kids interested in STEM — that was always our primary mission,” said co-founder Sunny Washington. “Space was a way to do that because we had access to a network of satellites, we could make experiments in space scalable.”
Ardusat began by selling sensor kits that students could use to build their own space experiments, a hands-on way to generate excitement around the STEM learning process. Kits were sold for $150 and after purchase, kids had access to a myriad of lessons and experiments they could conduct in outer space.
As they continued interacting and working with more with schools, Ardusat began fielding requests to build out content that delved into other areas like coding, science, and math.
Which brings us to today’s rebrand — Ardusat is now Because Learning, the name indicative of a broader approach to STEM learning. As part of the rebrand, Because Learning will also tweak their business model to encompass $18-per-month subscriptions that can be purchased by individual parents or teachers. The sensor kit will come free with purchase of a subscription, lowering cost of entry for those interested, while still allowing access to everything Because Learning provides: STEM education in all of its forms.
“We offer over a 100 lesson plans on different topics and we want to make sure our brand reflects that as well,” said Washington.
Ardusat will still exist as the Because Learning space program, while other learning units are now available centered around physics, coding, and math, with more on the way. The plan is to continue generating excitement for children around STEM, this time in every possible way — the mission of Ardusat, continued as Because Learning.
“Our kit is centered around using sensors to collect data and there are so many cool ways kids can do that,” said Washington. “We have new and interesting ways to present these concepts that kids already have to learn in the classroom. That will continue to be our focus.”
