TINKERGARTEN, a startup that helps families find educational activities for toddlers in local parks, has raised $1.6 million in a seed round led by Omidyar Network. Other investors include Blue Collective, City Light Capital, 500 Startups and Outbound Ventures.
Launched in 2012, Tinkergarten has created a network of more than 100 local “leaders” who organize play-based classes and other childhood education programs in local parks across 14 states. The startup, founded by a married couple—a former principal and a former technologist at Knewton—offers an online platform where parents can search for classes, or volunteer to lead them. (Tinkergarten provides its own curriculum.) Instructors can make up to $1,700 per 10 sessions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
