Recognizing a significant gap in STEM exposure products and materials for students aged 13 and above, LINGO steps in to fill this void. Aisha Bowe, the Founder and CEO of LINGO, knows firsthand the importance of having access to quality STEM education. Graduating high school with a 2.3 GPA, she discovered her passion for technology in community college. This passion propelled her to earn a degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s in Space Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan, eventually leading to a successful career at NASA.
While many STEM programs and kits are targeted at younger children, this often leaves middle and high school students with fewer age-appropriate and engaging resources. Addressing this gap is LINGO’s mission, as these older students are at a formative stage where they are making important decisions about their educational and career paths.
LINGO’s hands-on STEM kits are designed to unlock the hidden genius in each student through practical instruction and real-life scenarios. Each project builds confidence, imparts hands-on, real-world skills, and develops essential life skills such as problem-solving and creativity. This unique approach ensures that students are not just passive recipients of knowledge but active participants in their learning journey.
Engaging and Fun Learning Experiences
At LINGO, each lesson is a step-by-step journey into exploring coding and engineering, using hardware that real engineers rely on. Students, regardless of experience, dive into areas like self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, and plant health.
The beauty of LINGO’s kits lies in their reusability. Students can continually use the same components to create, making learning both dynamic and sustainable. This hands-on approach builds confidence and imparts critical real-world skills such as problem-solving and creativity.
Imagine the excitement of designing a collision avoidance sensor for a self-driving car, developing a game to test reaction times, or constructing a countdown timer for a rocket launch from scratch. These engaging projects are just a glimpse into the possibilities that LINGO offers. LINGO’s educational approach is designed to prepare young minds for a future where 80% of careers will require STEM expertise.
“When we bring LINGO to the classroom, we watch students go from ‘I can’t do this,’ to ‘I am doing this,’ to ‘I am immersed in this,’ to ‘I can’t believe people get paid to do this!’ It’s incredible,” says Aisha Bowe, the visionary behind LINGO. This transformation is the essence of LINGO’s mission: making STEM education accessible, engaging, and inspiring.
One example of this takes us to St. Louis, where LINGO partnered with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) to equip local classrooms. LINGO engineers visited classrooms, with GDIT sharing their expertise and serving as relatable role models for students. Many of these students had never met an engineer and were inspired. Samara, a Riverview Gardens High School student, shared her experience: “I highly recommend doing LINGO. Learning more about what you want to be in life later on or after high school is great. You can even grow out of your shyness.”
LINGO’s inspiring approach has even made it to the small screen in Africa. In Mogotio, Kenya, the newest LINGO lesson, “Countdown to Launch,” was featured in a BBC StoryWorks film sponsored by Logitech. The film highlights the aspirations of 11-year-old Leddy, who is captivated by space exploration. Her ambition to travel beyond our sky was fueled further when Logitech and her teacher, Nelly Cheboi, arranged a classroom visit from Aisha Bowe. As a former NASA Aerospace Engineer and Blue Origin Astronaut, Aisha’s visit included a teaching session encouraging students to reach for the stars.
These stories from St. Louis and Kenya illustrate the profound impact of LINGO’s approach to STEM education. By combining practical, hands-on learning with real-world applications, LINGO is not just teaching students how to code but inspiring a generation of innovators and problem solvers ready to tackle the challenges of a technology-driven world.
Aisha’s vision for LINGO extends far beyond the classroom. She sees a future where every student possesses the confidence and skills to engage with the world of technology fearlessly. To Aisha, these are more than words. She embodies this mission as she embarks on her own journey to touch the sky as a Blue Origin Astronaut. She asserts: “With LINGO, we’re not just teaching students how to code; we’re teaching them how to think critically, solve problems, and engage with the world around them to gain meaningful employment opportunities. That’s the power of education.”
Supported by venture capitalists like D.C. natives 1863 Ventures led by Melissa Bradley and Pinnacle Private Ventures, LINGO is set to redefine the landscape of STEM education, one coding kit at a time.
