About Us

Our Playful Future Lab (PFL) is an independent research organization to bring together expertise from STEAM education research, creative digital media, crafting, computing and educational practice to create new approaches to designing and using technologies in education for the future of children.

The two co-founders, Iva (left) and Paola (right), first met during their studies in the MFA Design and Technology program at Parsons School of Design, New York, in 2008. Since then, they have formed a dynamic working relationship centered around a shared passion for educating children through soft circuits, toys, art, and digital media in playful, hands-on ways. Their work is rooted in STEAM education, blending science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics to spark curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving in young learners. They design experiences that empower children to explore real-world concepts through making, tinkering, and storytelling. See the PFL team’s expertise below.

IVA SON LI, Ph.D.

Iva is a director of Playful Future Lab focusing on researching and developing digital tools that support children’s collaborative STEAM education and literacy practices through digital media and sensory-rich experiences. She is passionate about researching children’s digital literacy practices, bilingual education, language learning, research rights for children, playful programming, and STEAM education. She has over a decade of experience creating educational games and animations for children, including Aniland, Gogo Monster Kids, Frog Karaoke, Cavity Hero, and The Three Little Beans. She has taught digital media, communication, programming, and education courses across undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs at Teachers College, Columbia University and Parsons School of Design. She earned her PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University (UK), an MA in Developmental Psychology from The New School for Social Research, an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design, and a BA in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

PAOLA GUIMERÁNS, Ph.D.

Paola is an E-textiles education specialist and an Interaction Design and Wearable Technology expert. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of Seville, an MFA Design + Technology at Parsons School of Design in New York and a Ph.D. degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. Among others projects, she is the founder of the innovative educational technology project Aula STEAM:E-textiles in Education and the author of the online tech resources platform PrototipadoLAB. Since 2011 she had worked as a professor for universities such as Parsons School of Art and Design (NY), Istituto Europeo di Design (Spain), Institut Supérieure des Arts de Toulouse (France) or the American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). For a decade she has participated in national and international conferences such as the Make Education New York World Maker Faire, Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interfaces TEI13, INTED12 The annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference, IATED International Academy of Technology, Education and Development conference.

Marta Cabrera

Marta is a STEAM specialist. She is a graduate of physics and the founder of the Aula 3i project (http://aula3i.com/). Since 2015 is responsible to coordinate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Canarian Island. Also, the coordinator of the project Gambuesa Científica promotes the Science and Technology Fair in which schools from Fuerteventura will show their projects. She develops, implements, and oversees STEAM lesson plans in accordance with program objectives and standards.