San Francisco, CA (July 14, 2008) — LUNAR announces the development of the SPARK Science Learning System for PASCO scientific, a leading developer of science education products. PASCO sourced LUNAR’s creativity in developing the identity and interaction design of SPARK to create a system that enables students in sixth through twelfth grades to explore the world and make scientific discoveries both inside and outside the classroom. LUNAR helped craft an intuitive all-in-one discovery-learning environment that seamlessly integrates the power of probeware with inquiry-based content and assessment.

In a time when many middle school and high school science classes are taught by teachers without a deep background in the science they are teaching, PASCO sought to develop a tool that would be conducive to easy learning for a wide range of age and experience levels. So with a goal of making it more efficient to teach with SPARK than without it, LUNAR’s interaction designers had to make the technology invisible to the point that using the device felt like second nature. LUNAR developed a simple interface, eliminating the field of buttons altogether to focus a student’s attention on the individual steps of learning. The large graphical interface enables easy-to-understand lesson based learning. LUNAR also designed the SPARK unit for one-handed operation, with the data collection trigger duplicated on two sides of the device for left- or right-handers.

"Other devices on the market create a hurdle for science teachers and students – they have to be understood first and the science is secondary,” said John Edson, president of LUNAR. ”The SPARK design makes a difference for students -- and teachers. Its large display and intuitive touch-screen interface enables teachers and students to focus on the science learning instead of the device."

It was also imperative that the device be cost effective and long lasting to fit within tight education budgets. LUNAR made sure that the aesthetics would survive the 10+ year life span of the technology just as well as the actual device. The ice blue motif will outlast design fads and at the same time works with the existing PASCO probeware. The rugged, grippable body of the device enables students to go outside of the classroom and conduct experiments "in the wild." Getting rid of the easy-to-lose stylus seen in competitor devices, LUNAR implemented an entirely touch-screen operated interface that is better suited for outdoor use.

"We knew that there was an opportunity to rethink probeware from the ground up. LUNAR proved to us that our instinct was right, creating a revolutionary design that is making a difference for PASCO in this market. Educators are thrilled with the simplicity of the device and how it guides teachers and students through the learning," said Wayne Grant, Chief Education Officer of PASCO.

About LUNAR
LUNAR creates winning consumer, technology and medical products that make a difference to its clients’ stakeholders, brands and markets. With a portfolio of highly successful products that have generated tens of billions of dollars in sales, LUNAR has consistently held a spot among the top 5 award-winning product design firms for the last 10 years, according to Business Week magazine. Founded in 1984, LUNAR provides full-service product development with offices in California, Hong Kong, and Europe. LUNAR’s current and past clients include Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corporation, Motorola, Philips, Oral-B, Palm, Pepsi, and Sony.

About SPARK
SPARK provides both teacher and student embedded support for exploring scientific concepts. The system includes more than 60 pre-installed SPARKlabs, standard-based guided-inquiry labs in an electronic notebook format. The labs completely integrate background content, data collection and analysis and assessment in the same environment.

The System includes two sensors--temperature and voltage--and students can connect up to two additional PASPORT® sensors, including PASCO's unique line of MultiMeasure Sensors™. The full color, resolution screen provides ample room for multiple representations of data--show graphs, digits and meters in the same view. The System is powered by a LINUX mobile operating system, encapsulated to make it invisible to the user.

For press information contact:
Amy Cunha
amy@bigpicpr.com
415-626-3333