What is Kids Hack Day?

Kids Hack Day is a series of global, creative and free-of-charge or subsidised tech events for kids, parents, teachers and educators. We work to protect childrens rights to be active participants in our society. Our events can both be online and global as well as offline and local or a combination of the two.

Kids Hack Day Stockholm 2013 - Our first event. 

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San José

The capital city of Costa Rica was taken over by mini hackers

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Amsterdam

The first time our robots invaded the Netherlands

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Curitiba

Our robots didn't play football but they amazed Brasil

Global Chapter Coordinator

 
 

Team Members

Our team makes up a network of professional freelancing educators, makers, designers & creative technologists from all over the world. We are united in our shared passion for amplifying kids voices and creative confidence through the use of technology.

Johanna nordin

Educator

CARL BÄRSTAD

Lead Instigator

ADO FAJKIC

Ambassador Europe

Gregory Carniel

Designer

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Murilo Polese

Creative Technologist

 

Julia Söderberg

Global Coordinator

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Kelsey Derringer

Event Designer / Host

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Olle Bjerkås

Artist & Project Manager

 

Advisor

Nina Sandström

Chairwoman

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Matt CHilbert

Event designer / Production Manager

Lindsay Balfour

Educator

 
 

Mitch Altman

Hacker

 
 
 

Ambassadors & Instigators

 

Sanne bolten

Global Instigator

ALISSA LORENTZ ARZNER

Global Instigator

Paulo Barcelos

Global Instigator

DANIEL MASCARENHAS

Global Instigator

 

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