SparkBlocks named a 2026 GESS Education Awards finalist

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, September 22, 2026. SparkBlocks is a finalist in the 2026 GESS Education Awards, in the Best Product to Promote STEM / Robotics / Coding category.

The Canadian electronics kit maker has spent the past year working on the part nobody photographs: the material a teacher needs to bring a kit into the classroom. Its curriculum resources connect circuit-building lessons with published science standards. Teachers can explore the available materials for their region before choosing a kit.

"For us, the GESS recognition is particularly meaningful because education is where SparkBlocks can do the most good," said Michelle Vaughan, Education and Outreach Director at SparkBlocks. "Most classroom electronics ask a teacher to take it on faith that the thing fits their curriculum. We got tired of giving that answer, so we wrote it down for every state and province we ship to. A teacher in Oklahoma can see which standard a lesson answers before they spend a dollar."

Each SparkBlocks block holds one component: a battery, an LED, a motor, a switch or a speaker. Current passes from block to block through the same stud-and-tube joint that holds ordinary bricks together, so the circuit closes as the model is built rather than wired. Ordinary bricks do not conduct and carry no current; they provide the structure around the circuit.

Mark Vaughan, inventor and co-founder of SparkBlocks, started prototyping the patent-pending system in 2021.

"Kids are surrounded by extraordinary technology, but they mostly experience it through a screen," said Vaughan. "We hope that by adapting this toy to better fit the classroom, we get more kids off screens and discovering that technology is something they can create themselves."

SparkBlocks funded on Kickstarter in July 2025 and shipped that autumn. The Intro to Circuits Kit is rated for ages eight and up.

Teachers can browse the classroom curriculum. The official GESS finalist list includes SparkBlocks, and the awards ceremony takes place on November 11, 2026, at the Conrad Dubai Hotel.