Educators know that students learn best when they interact with their learning materials. And what works best in early childhood—hands-on experience with manipulatives and playful opportunities for self-directed knowledge construction—also works best for teaching ai.
A tiny robot, KIBO, is a research-proven method for exploring concepts of computer science, engineering, creativity, and now artificial intelligence in early childhood STEM education.
The award-winning “Thinking with KIBO: Introducing ai in the early grades” offers a unique opportunity for K-5 students to learn about STEM, coding, technology, computer science, and ai, through hands-on work with the screen-free KIBO robot. Featuring 5 KIBO lessons, the curriculum is designed to help young learners understand how ai works, what its limitations are, and how to think critically about how these tools can improve lives in their communities.
Through hands-on exploration with KIBO, advanced and abstract concepts like coding and ai become accessible to young children, where they code, problem-solve, collaborate, and develop computational thinking skills.
“The students in my class were eager to get their hands on the coding blocks that would power their KIBO robots,” says Keri Goldberg, a first-grade teacher at New York City Public Schools PS 321. “The classes had a real spirit of experimentation—there were no mistakes, just lots of trial and error, observations, and cheers to get back to work. I wouldn’t be surprised if the future programmers and scientists among them remember this experience as one that sparked their interest in coding and creative problem solving.”
Research-backed, kid-tested, and teacher-approved
KIBO offers a nurturing educational environment where children are encouraged to freely explore their curiosity. Not only is KIBO fun, it is based on decades of research in early childhood development. Children love using KIBO because it is not like a traditional educational exercise; they are engaged as they collaborate, play, and create.
Educators love KIBO because coding and robotics can be easily integrated into classroom instruction with over 160 hours of standards-aligned lesson plans and curriculum to help incorporate STEAM elements into a wide range of curricula, supporting deep cross-curricular connections with: science, ELA, math, social studies, art, cultural studies, reading literacy, computer science, and engineering.
So how does KIBO do all this?
KinderLab is a high-impact resource for introducing young learners to the world of coding and robotics. Its hands-on, playful approach makes STEM concepts accessible and fun, fostering creativity and critical thinking. KIBO by KinderLab Robotics is a useful tool for inspiring creation in the early years of primary school.
tech & Learning Judges
KIBO comes with multiple wooden programming blocks that influence how the robot moves and interacts with the environment. Each block represents a different action that KIBO must perform, from movement to sensory feedback. Children arrange the blocks in a sequence to provide instructions for KIBO to perform what they want their robot to do.
“KinderLab has created a wonderful answer to the need for STEAM learning from early childhood. KIBO was designed to get kids building and coding without the need for screen time,” says one Academics Choice reviewer. “This element really sets KIBO apart from the rest. KIBO sparked a great conversation that led my son to associate coding, engineering, and technology not only with KIBO, but with everything around it. This robot would be a wonderful addition to any STEAM classroom or child’s bedroom.”
Additionally, KIBO can be equipped with wheels, sensors, and decorations that can be moved around depending on what the child wants the robot to do. There are also art platforms that allow children to exercise their creativity. With the many ways KIBO can be coded and built, KIBO’s possibilities are limited only by the child’s imagination.
KIBO wraps technology-based STEAM education in a fun and interactive way for young children to learn to code, create robot adventures, and become creative coders in ways other robotics can't offer.
