Newark marks manufacture of 5-million micro:bit

Newark, an Avnet Company and the exclusive manufacturing partner of the Educational Foundation, is celebrating the manufacture of 5-million BBC micro:bit devices since its launch in 2016. The micro:bit has been adopted by multiple educational organizations around the world to support STEM learning through formal programs, helping the Foundation reach an estimated 25 million children in more than 60 countries who have learned digital creativity and computing skills. 

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation launched a new micro:bit offering greater memory capacity, a faster processor and, for the first time, ‘out of the box’ sound and touch functionality. More information is available from micro:bit.org. The new micro:bit will be available to order from Newark in November.

Educational organizations

Newark has worked with multiple educational organizations and governments to support strategic rollouts of STEM learning solutions into the classroom, and stocks a broad range of education devices that can be supplied in class, school and multiple-school quantities. Newark can also offer support with provision and bundling of equipment for bespoke large-scale programs similar to the Super:bit program in Norway.

Lee Turner, Global Head of Semiconductors and SBC at Newark said: “Newark is proud to be the Micro:bit Educational Foundation’s exclusive manufacturer and we are delighted to join our partners in celebrating the manufacture of 5 million micro:bit and their announcement of an updated micro:bit today.”

Newark also provides a range of resources to assist educators and parents supporting children with STEM. The element14 Community’s STEM Academy provides a wealth of content and support for those looking to get started with the micro:bit. This dedicated online hub is designed for people who want to explore learning concepts and classroom-based design projects within the electronics and digital space. The element14 Community’s ‘The Learning Circuit’ series features a number of instructional videos which take viewers through different ways to learn and explore with micro:bit. These short videos teach users how to apply micro:bit to their designs and offer instruction and advice on bringing projects to life.

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation also offers a range of resources on micro:bit.org.