It is understandable why educational toys are so popular. If your kids are going to play with toys, they might as well try and learn something from it too, right? That’s what Mattel is trying to do with its Barbie lineup because together with Tynker, they have partnered up to create coding lessons aimed to teach kids how to code.According to Sven Gerjets, CTO of Mattel, “Through this collaboration, we continue our commitment to providing meaningful play experiences that are fun while helping kids with STEM learning, an important 21st century learning skill. By exposing kids to STEM experiences on Tynker through Mattel characters they know and love, they may develop a passion for science and computing that could lead them to a career in a STEM-related field.”
This is actually not the first time that Mattel and Tynker have worked together on educational toys. Back in 2015, both companies collaborated on Hot Wheels and Monster High toys that also brought coding skills to kids, but it seems that with this new program with Barbie, they are hoping to reach an even wider audience.
Mattel’s press release has suggested that this curriculum is aimed more at girls and will expose them to a variety of different careers, such as being a vet, an astronaut, or a robotics engineer. According to the company, they are hoping that with these initiatives that they will be able to introduce coding to as many as 10 million kids by 2020.