Save the Date for 2012 Sandbox Summit; Early Bird Registration Now Open

January 27, 2012 | The Toy Industry Association (TIA) announced today that it will once again be a sponsor for Sandbox Summit®, a series of conferences designed to address how technology affects the ways kids play, learn, and connect.  The 2012 Sandbox Summit, Going Mobile, Going Global: Tracking the Anywhere/Everywhere State of Play, will be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts from April 17-18, 2012.
 
Presented by the MIT Education Arcade and Comparative Media Studies, the event will explore the mobile revolution and its impact on the “tools” and “rules” of play. Attempting to make sense of how real-time technology – from smartphones to e-readers – teach kids, and how children’s usage of technology teaches adults, the Summit will draw on the latest research to answer some of the most fundamental questions of our time. 
 
Launched in January 2008 by Wendy Smolen and Claire Green, Sandbox Summit is a series of conferences designed to address how technology is changing the ways kids play, learn and connect. Panelists slated to speak at this year’s event include scholars, developers, toy designers, media leaders, analysts, and parents, creating a dynamic forum for conversation around play and technology from different disciplines and viewpoints. Confirmed keynote speakers are Rex Ishibashi, CEO, Callaway Digital Arts and Colleen Macklin, Associate Professor in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design.
 
“TIA is proud to once again sponsor this important event,” said Carter Keithley, TIA president. “Every year, the line between toys and tech gadgets becomes more blurred. A lot of toy manufacturers are now creating products that work with smart devices, leveraging the technology to enhance classic play patterns. The Sandbox Summit is an exciting place for toy companies to come together to talk about the future of play.”
 
Early bird registration for the event is now open; through February 4th, tickets to the two-day summit are just $595. After that date tickets will be available for $695. For more information, including a list of confirmed speakers, please visit SandboxSummit.org. Questions can be directed to Claire Green or Wendy Smolen.