Cartoon Adds STEAM to Computer Ed Initiative

Cartoon Network has created an advisory board to guide the channel's efforts to its promote STEAM education (STEM plus the arts) efforts.

As part of a three-year White House push to promote computer science education, Cartoon Network last January launched a $30 million initiative to get kids interested in computer codes and coding.

The network's new STEAM advisory board was billed as the latest initiative in that effort, others being teaming with MIT, DIY and Google to promote using computer coding to "express ideas, craft stories and make art."

Read more #CableInTheCommunity stories.

Named to the advisory board were DIY CEO Zach Klein; National Girls Collaborative CEO Karen Peterson; Mitch Resnick, a professor at MIT Media Lab; and Diana Skaar, head of business innovation for robotics at X (formerly Google[x]); and Mimi Ito, digital media professor at University of California Irvine.

“Cartoon Network’s unparalleled multiplatform reach uniquely positions us to meet kids where they are and find new ways to unlock their creativity through technology,” said Christina Miller, president of Cartoon Network, in announcing the board. “Now, with the leadership of this incredible group of dedicated visionaries, we will accelerate and expand our reach, fulfilling our goal of giving Plurals creative confidence to become the next generation of creators, animators and makers.”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.