Florida education startup Meta Humans eyes HQ, expansion in Orlando

By Alex Soderstrom - OBJ Staff Writer & Orlando Inno Reporter August 22, 2022, 09:15am EDT

Class is nearly in session for a Central Florida education startup that lets children run a business, develop products and study cybersecurity.  Meta Humans this fall will open its first science and tech-focused education center at 2175 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park.However, it’s just the start of Meta Humans’ plans, which include opening more centers across the metro in the comingyears and growing into a national network of facilities with a corporate headquarters in Orlando, CEO Philippe Tassin told Orlando Inno . “We want to make the model so attractive that a nonprofit could run it in their community.”

Meta Humans, founded in 2018 and based in Winter Park, Florida, utilizes Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics, to engage members in experiential learning through problem solving, collaboration, and creativity Based on a STEAM-centric educational approach, STEAM empowers students to become part of the teaching process. We aim to shape our future innovators via critical thinking strategies as they build confidence in solving real world problems. Meta Humans offers membership options that accommodate your child’s home school, virtual school, after school, weekend, tutoring, summer, and holiday camp needs. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to learn more about the various activities we offer. To request more information on our memberships, contact us by visiting our website at metahumans.com.

Tassin, whose background is a blend of engineering, computer science and business, started Meta Humans in 2018 with his wife. The couple wanted strong science education options for their own children that would prepare them for the future, but they found the options lacking. 

That’s why they founded Meta Humans, an educational program designed to teach 2nd-12th graders skill sets and critical thinking in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). The firm provides after school education, tutoring, supplemental learning for homeschooling and summer camps in emerging technologies ranging from biotechnology to artificial intelligence. 

“We want to make the model so attractive that a nonprofit could run it in their community.”

— CEO Philippe Tassin

Tassin, whose background is a blend of engineering, computer science and business, started Meta Humans in 2018 with his wife. The couple wanted strong science education options for their own children that would prepare them for the future, but they found the options lacking. 

That’s why they founded Meta Humans, an educational program designed to teach 2nd-12th graders skill sets and critical thinking in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). The firm provides after school education, tutoring, supplemental learning for homeschooling and summer camps in emerging technologies ranging from biotechnology to artificial intelligence. 

Two years ago, Tassin enlisted a friend to build the company’s curriculum: Shawn Carlson, a renowned innovator inSTEAM education with a PhD in nuclear physics. Carlson’s long list of accomplishments include being named aMacArthur Fellow and writing columns for Scientific American, but he told Orlando Inno that Tassin’s vision for STEAMeducation is the project with which he wants to end his career. “He was the first person to put it together in a way thatI thought had a fighting chance to be done.” 

This rendering shows the interior of the Meta Humans center in Winter Park. In addition, roughly 20% of the facility is set up to run like a business, with students handlingaccounting and product development.

Meta Humans seeks to tackle a couple problems. One is the widespread difficulty of engaging students in scienceeducation as they get older, particularly once they get to middle school, Carlson said. Another is a tendency for STEAM education programs to center around particularly gifted educators, with no ability to scale without those specificindividuals who build the program.

However, Carlson said Meta Humans’ “secret sauce” consists of three physiological components built into its curriculum: 

• Self engagement: Children must be personally invested in the curriculum.

• Social engagement: Children need to collaborate across age groups to work toward a common goal.

• Custodial engagement: The children need instructors who they admire and want to emulate, not just because of their intellectual abilities but also their status as moral leaders.

Meanwhile, Tassin and the Meta Humans team have growth on their minds. The company is exploring opening threemore centers around Orlando, potentially in Lake Mary, Lake Nona or Dr. Phillips, and expanding to Tampa. Plus, thefirm may franchise throughout the U.S. within the next three years, Tassin said. 

The Meta Humans business model was crafted to be a franchise. Still, Tassin said Orlando will be the center of theMeta Humans network, and the company plans to open a headquarters office in Orlando once it's ready to franchise.“This is probably where we’d handle equipment and the management to get centers started.” 

Tassin said that headquarters would generate local jobs for program development, training, compliance, logistics andmore. In addition, a typical 4,000-square-foot Meta Humans center generates up to four salaried positions for leadeducators, as well as five hourly positions and an assortment of independent contractor roles for specialized Instructors.