As STEM education has gained traction in schools and at home, there has been a parallel rise in interest and availability of toys and children’s products that teach science, technology, engineering, and math, with science and engineering leading the way. This trend has resulted in an incremental increase in the presence of licensed media and museum brands that have a connection to these topics.
Brands from the world of media include television networks such as Animal Planet and Discovery Kids. Among the former’s licensees in the category are EDU-Science and Ingenio by Smart Play and among the latter’s are Wild Republic and Parragon Publishing. The Dorling Kindersley book brand Eyewitness has a long-time license with Skullduggery for science kits. And National Geographic, known for its magazine and books as well as its television content, has an educational licensing roster that includes Thames & Kosmos and Uncle Milton.
On the museum side, meanwhile, The Smithsonian sees its brand on science kits from Skullduggery and science-related books from Silver Dolphin, while the U.K.’s Science Museum Group also has licensees for science playthings and products sold in that country.
Entertainment properties, from Nickelodeon’s BLAZE to Disney’s Miles from Tomorrowland—among many others—are latching onto the STEM trend in the toy industry as well. They often enter with a bigger splash than the science-centric brands, which, it should be noted, have had a presence in the toy and children’s products industries for some time. But the latter brands’ overall profile is expanding a bit along with the interest in science education.
STEM is one of the trends highlighted in RaugustReports: 15 Licensing Super Trends for 2015 and Beyond, now available in print and PDF editions. It examines 15 overriding trends that will endure for the foreseeable future, as well as 70 shorter-term developments that reflect and support the super trends. The report offers a snapshot of the licensing business as it stands in early 2015, and serves as a blueprint to help guide licensing executives as they face the future. For more information and to purchase the $39.95 report, click here.
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