Celebrate The Summer of UMIGO! Season-Long Series of Hands-On, Local Events Kicks Off on National Summer Learning Day: Friday, June 19

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UMIGO, the fun, free online world of adventure that helps early elementary-age children discover the fundamentals of math, is kicking off its inaugural Summer of UMIGO on National Summer Learning Day, Friday, June 19. UMIGO has partnered with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) for the kick-off of this annual national advocacy day, led by NSLA, to elevate the importance of keeping kids learning, safe, and healthy each summer.

Research shows that summers without quality learning opportunities put our nation's youth at risk for falling behind – year after year – in core subjects such as math and reading. Designed to help combat that "summer slide," the Summer of UMIGO provides children with a hands-on, tactile experience that mirrors the content found at UMIGO.com. For parents, it raises awareness of the importance of informal learning, and directs them to free resources available on the website.  

UMIGO will bring its narrative-based appisodes, interactive games, activities, and educational resources to more than 70 venues around the country, including flagship locations at Baltimore's Port Discovery Children's Museum, Chicago's Kohl Children's Museum, and New York City's Children's Museum of Manhattan.

National Summer Learning Day is supported by elected officials and policymakers, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, universities, museums, libraries, and summer camps across the country. This year, NSLA will work with partners such as UMIGO to reach a goal of serving 700,000 youth nationwide with summer learning opportunities tracked on NSLA's interactive map at SummerLearningDayMap.org.

"UMIGO's proven ability to bring easily accessible and fun, engaging educational content to children fits in perfectly with the objectives of Summer Learning Day," said Laura Johnson, Vice President of Communications for the National Summer Learning Association. "We're proud to have them on board for Summer Learning Day and look forward to a very special day – and a season of learning all summer long!"

"Our collaboration with NSLA is a great opportunity to engage UMIGO's many fans while introducing the property to new audiences," said Parke Richeson, Senior Vice President of WTTW. "We are excited to be a part of this inaugural event and welcome children and parents to the wonderful world of UMIGO!"

About National Summer Learning Association
The National Summer Learning Association is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers capacity-building offerings, and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit summerlearning.org.

About UMIGO
UMIGO is funded in part by a U.S. Department of Education Ready to Learn grant awarded to WTTW Chicago. DHX Media is the project's creative partner with Chief Content Officer Shalom Fisch heading up the UMIGO creative team. Research and evaluation is provided by The Michael Cohen Group. Community-based partnerships are developed by the Children's Museum of Manhattan, along with HFG Enterprises, Inc.

Guided by a curriculum team of highly respected educators, the project's educational content is aligned with the Common Core Standards for Mathematics for the first and second grades. The animated characters in the narrative stories model strategies for thinking about and using math, while music videos reinforce the story's main educational concepts. As the narrative unfolds, the child becomes an active participant, applying newly acquired math concepts and skills within embedded games and activities. New appisodes are being released every few weeks, ensuring fresh and interesting content for both kids and parents to enjoy.

SOURCE UMIGO