Our Beginning

Inspired by the global hackerspace movement and the lack of technology-related play and creativity in the classroom, Kids Hack Day is a means of closing the gap between education and technological creativity. We aim to revolutionize how we immerse children in emerging technologies.

Kids Hack Day is a 1-day event format where children and adults come together to "hack" and make new uses of every day items and new technologies.  

The idea sprung out of a first series of workshops run by lead instigator and former TEDxStockholm organizer Carl Bärstad under the name Hackerspace In A Box as an attempt to strengthen the collaboration between schools and local hackerspaces in the region. 

The story of Quirkbot

If you’ve ever pulled apart a computer... a radio... or tried to build a robot, you know that learning about technology isn’t always kid-friendly (or cheap!). You can have messes of wires, small parts, and a difficulty level that makes it tough for a kid to understand. Now imagine trying to teach thirty kids about technology - hands-on and at the same time - without creating a chaotic mess and more confusion than insight. Not the easiest task in the world, right?

Enter Quirkbot. Our very own product. We call it “hackable” for two reasons: It’s both a tool (like a computer) and a material (like wood). You can morph Quirkbot into almost any imaginable shape and easily program it. It’s kind of like intelligent play-doh that does what you tell it to do. (But please, don’t try to taste Quirkbot. While it’s colorful, it’s meant to fit in your hands and not in your mouth). Oh yeah, one more awesome thing - if you want to get your hands on one, Quirkbot is now being produced, sold, and distributed by Strawbees, our main material sponsor, as Strawbees Coding & Robotics kit (that also frees us up to spend more time making sweet Kids Hack Day events). 

Quirkbot as seen on kickstarter