Can you make ice cream play dough? What’s your favorite healthy snack and why?
Those are the questions a new app called Zigazoo uses to engage kids and help them learn.
Zigazoo is the brain child of Leah and Zak Ringelstein who were looking for something their kids to do while quarantined during the pandemic.
"It's a social media place for kids," Leah explains.
The pair came up with the app during the pandemic while they were juggling their jobs as parents and as teachers. Like most parents, the Ringelsteins were scrounging around looking for things for their kids to do.
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"We are parents who were really struggling early in the pandemic to figure out how to give our kids something that was healthy for them," Zak said.
"We were having them do scavenger hunts and coming up with science challenges and we realized the piece that was missing was the social piece," Leah said.
ZigaZoo gives kids challenges they can learn from and share with their friends.
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The app uses project-based learning geared toward children ages 3 to 12. The Ringelsteins say Zigazoo is built on four pillars.
First, the challenges all start with a question kids can respond to. Second, the kids create and build things; third, they socialize with their peers, and fourth they share it with friends who can acknowledge their work.
"My philosophy of teaching and learning has always been, 'How do we give kids things that they actually want to do? That gives them purpose and joy?'" Zak explained.
The Ringelsteins say children learn best when they teach each other.
"We've worked hard to create a culture of positivity, so they can interact in ways that allow them to feel connected to their peers," Leah said. "We have airtight safety, everything on Zigazoo is moderated and you know, kids are creating, interacting. They're not just sitting there binging, unsafe YouTube content."
Zigazoo app has earned celebrity support from tennis’s Serena Williams, who recently invested $4 million in the app.
"We're just so excited for its growth," Zak said.
