About Killer Snails
Killer Snails creates award-winning science games and experiences loved by children and adults. All products are research-based and iteratively developed with students and teachers with funding from organizations including the National Science Foundation, Institute of Educational Sciences and the National Institutes of Health.
We asked Jessica Ochoa-Hendrix, Co-Founder and CEO at Killer Snails, to tell us more:
Why did you start your company?
Women with a love of science, that’s how Killer Snails came to be! Dr. Mandë Holford, a marine biochemist, met Jessica Ochoa Hendrix at a Secret Science Club meeting and they thought that there had to be a better way to get kids to connect with science. We knew about the research saying many children lose interest in science in middle school and we wanted to get children excited about science and stay excited about it by putting children in the role of a scientist.
Since starting the company in 2016 with a tabletop game, Killer Snails has released 13 award winning products! Now, their patented, innovative learning experiences have made their way into schools nationwide, both co-founders have given their own separate TED talks, and Killer Snails is a force in bringing science out of laboratories to help children find the joys of discovery and exploration.
How do you develop your products?
Killer Snails is known for its thorough testing and co-creation process, working with our student and teacher users from the first steps to make sure the final product is exactly what they need. We team up with experts to create a first version, share it with teachers and small groups of students for their thoughts, and then make improvements based on what they say. After we have a working version, we try it out in real classrooms to get more feedback from both students and teachers.
Every part of our products goes through at least three rounds of changes (starting with small groups, then private schools and public Title 1 schools), getting better each time based on information from a wide variety of students and teachers in different settings. Once a product is finished, we try the whole thing out in a few schools before starting a bigger, official study led by independent research partners outside the company. We love learning from teachers and students to make a more fun, more educational, easier-to-use experience using cutting-edge technology!
