In the room
Human-centered STEAM workshops
- Kids design for real people and real needs
- Real tools from donated equipment, across all five STEAM areas
- A variety of formats, led by trained local facilitators
501(c)(3) Nonprofit, EIN 42-2735531
A Global STEAM Lab Without Walls
Every child deserves to hold a circuit board, look through a microscope, build something real, and discover what they are capable of.
Kids Engine brings human-centered STEAM to K–12 children: they design for real people and real needs, using real tools. We deliver workshops in a variety of formats, with a focus on communities where tools, technology, and hands-on learning are hard to come by, and every workshop is backed by Kite, our human-centered STEAM learning platform.
- Human-centered design
- Real tools in children's hands
- Trained local facilitators
- Donated equipment
💡 Human-centered STEAM
♻️ Donated gear, second life
- Science
- Technology
- Engineering
- Arts
- Math
- Real tools
- Donated gear
- Human-centered design
The access gap
STEAM is everywhere in conversation, but too many children still do not get to use the tools
Kids Engine closes that gap by bringing real tools, guided activities, and trained facilitators directly to communities with limited access.
The gapKids Engine arrivesReal tools, real hands
Learn about science without ever using a microscope.
Hear about robotics without programming a robot.
See technology everywhere without building a circuit.
Study design without making something of their own.
Human-centered STEAM
STEAM that starts with people
Most STEAM programs start with the technology. Ours start with people. Kids Engine uses human-centered design principles, so children learn science, technology, engineering, arts, and math by designing for real people and real needs.
It comes from our founder's background in human-computer interaction (HCI), the field that puts people at the center of how technology is designed.
Step 1: Start with people
Kids begin with a real person and a real need, and ask what would help.
Step 2: Imagine
They sketch and share ideas, then choose one to try.
Step 3: Build and test
They build it with real tools, sensors, and code, and test it with that person in mind.
Step 4: Improve
They gather feedback and make it better. Mistakes are part of the design.
One program, two engines
Hands-on workshops, powered by Kite
Kids Engine is more than a one-off workshop. Our human-centered STEAM workshops come in a variety of formats, and every one is backed by Kite, our human-centered STEAM learning platform, so kids keep designing for real people, coding and testing what they build, teachers run every session from one place, and families follow along from home.
On Kite
Kite, a human-centered STEAM learning platform
- 451 lessons and 520 Workshop Missions, each starting with a real person and a real need
- In 36 languages, including right-to-left ones, for kindergarten through Grade 12
- A Launchpad where kids code a virtual micro:bit, then the real one
- QR check-in and Mission Control for teachers; a calm progress view for families
What makes Kids Engine different
Equipment, teaching, and local ownership
Most equipment-donation efforts move hardware but do not teach. Many STEAM programs teach but depend on tools and infrastructure that communities may not have. Kids Engine closes the loop: donated equipment gets a second life inside human-centered STEAM workshops, guided activities, and facilitator training that local partners can keep using.
- Step 1
Donated equipment
Our workshops run on donated equipment whenever possible. Good for children, good for the planet.
- Step 2
Prepared and packed
Donated tools are reviewed, cleaned, repaired, and matched to age-appropriate STEAM activities.
- Step 3
Brought to the community
Each program is planned around its setting: available resources, local facilitators, language, and community.
- Step 4
Kept in local hands
Donated equipment becomes a portable STEAM lab that the community keeps using after we leave.
STEAM programs
Five ways children build, test, design, and create
Kids Engine programs connect science, technology, engineering, arts, and math through human-centered design, real tools, donated equipment, and local facilitator support.
- Science
Real experiments, microscopes, sensors, and lab tools
- Technology
Circuits, coding hardware, robotics, and creative computing
- Engineering
Structures, machines, wearables, and real-world design challenges
- Arts
Digital art, music, animation, and creative technology
- Math
Measurement, patterns, data, logic, and problem solving through hands-on projects
Grounded in evidence
Built on research, measured for impact
Impact
~100
children have already experienced this approach
Through our founder's prior hands-on workshops and research programs, roughly 100 children have built circuits, worked with sensors, experimented with tools, and created with technology, many for the first time. We report real numbers, not projections.
- Access
- Learning
- Confidence
- Capacity
- Sustainability
Research
13
published papers ground our work
Kids Engine is built on a decade of peer-reviewed research by our Founder & Executive Director, Dr. Rojin Vishkaie, and collaborators on how children learn, create, and connect with technology.
- Imagining Inclusive Digital Maker Futures with the BBC micro:bit
- Understanding mixed reality interactions in a children's museum exhibition
- Take Me to Greece: Exploring intergenerational interactivity in a mixed reality children's museum exhibition
- Interaction design inspirations from children's drawings in a mixed-reality museum exhibition
- Companion toys for children: using drawings to probe happiness
- Designing the Catbus: interactive support for early childhood emotional well-being in education
- VizEmo: Child communication technology for learning ambience
- HeartBit: Probing children's cognitive skills using digital technology
- Hey emotion companion, can you be my friend?
- The role of wearable technology in children's creativity
- Perceptions of digital tools and creativity in the classroom
- Can wearable technology improve children's creativity?
- Bubble Play: An interactive learning medium for young children
Guided by an advisory board of leading educators, researchers, and scientists in STEAM education, engineering learning, and computational thinking.
Meet the boardWhere we're headed
From Bellevue to communities worldwide
We're starting with pilot programs in the U.S. and building toward communities worldwide.
Phase 1 · Now: Founder-led launch. 1–3 US locations, founder-run programs, building the evidence base and first corporate equipment partnerships.
Phase 2 · 2027–2028: Facilitator network. Pilot expansion across selected U.S. and international partner sites, with trained local facilitators running programs with Kids Engine support.
Phase 3 · 2029+: Licensed curriculum. A global partner network. Kids Engine curriculum, toolkits, facilitator training, and evaluation tools adapted with approved partner organizations worldwide.
Kiteby Kids Engine
The learning platform behind every workshop
With Kite, the lab keeps going online
Every Kids Engine workshop is backed by Kite, our human-centered STEAM learning platform. It carries the same human-centered design approach into every lesson: kids meet a real person with a real need, design for them, build and code with real parts, then test with that person and improve from what they say. Kite is made for kids in kindergarten through Grade 12, with tools for the teachers, facilitators and families around them.
- 451lessons, each starting with a real person and a real need
- 520Workshop Missions, more than 100 in every STEAM area
- 6mission families
- 36languages, including right-to-left ones, with more on the way
- K–12the grades it is built for
- No ads and no behavioral tracking
Human-centered in every lesson
- Step 1Who it is forEvery lesson names a real person to design for, such as a school gardener or a younger reader at the library.
- Step 2Their needKids turn that person's need into a “How might we…?” question before they build.
- Step 3Test it with themThey try the work with that person, or a classmate playing them, and watch what helps.
- Step 4Improve from feedbackEach lesson has its own revision step, and a lesson isn't finished until kids show the feedback and the change it led to.
What happens in the film
- Kids start with a real person and a real need, then design something to help.
- The curriculum: 451 lessons and 520 Workshop Missions, more than 100 missions in every STEAM area, in 36 languages with more on the way, and sessions from 45 minutes to half a day.
- One lesson, every language: the teacher asks in English, and kids read the question and answer in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese.
- Every lesson starts with a real person and runs through eight stages: discover, gather, build, code, test, improve, explain and share. That person's feedback is part of the evidence, and each lesson ends with a revision prompt.
- They plug a soil sensor into a micro:bit through Seeed Studio Grove ports and code a plant reminder in the Launchpad.
- The program runs on a virtual board first, then on a real micro:bit.
- No software to install, no hardware setup, no drivers or IT tickets: just plug and play. Open a browser, plug in a part, press play. It works on Chromebooks, Windows and Mac.
- Teachers plan, prep kits, check kids in with QR cards, guide teams in Mission Control and review their work.
- Every workshop makes the next one better: kids build and test, Kite shows facilitators the step where kids get stuck, teachers revise that step, and the next class gets a better lesson.
- Families follow progress at home and approve what gets shared.
Kids
Meet the person they are designing for, like a school gardener whose plants keep drying out. Plug a soil sensor into a micro:bit through Seeed Studio Grove ports, code a reminder in the Launchpad, run it on a virtual board and a real one, then test it with that person and make it better.
Teachers
Plan sessions, prep kits, check kids in with QR cards, guide teams in Mission Control, and review their work, including the feedback each team got from the person they designed for.
Families
Follow progress from home and approve what gets shared. Kids sign in with a QR card or PIN, no email needed.
Open Kite(opens in a new tab)
Opens kite.kidsengine.org in a new tab
What your gift makes possible
Every gift keeps a lab running
Your gift supports equipment, materials, facilitator training, travel, and program delivery. Here are some sample giving levels.
- Level 1$50
$50 helps supply materials for one hands-on STEAM station.
- Level 2$150
$150 helps prepare sensors, circuits, batteries, and repair parts for a workshop.
- Level 3$500
$500 helps equip a robotics, coding, science, or creative technology station.
- Level 4$1,500
$1,500 funds a full traveling program: equipment, travel, and a trained facilitator for 25 to 40 children.
Ways to help
Choose the path that fits you best
Fund a pilot, donate equipment, open your space, or lead a session. Each one puts real tools and trained facilitators in front of children.
Fund a pilot
Your gift funds materials, travel, setup, facilitation, and local training.
Donate equipment
Laptops, tablets, robotics kits, and lab instruments, new or gently used.
Host a program
Schools, libraries, community centers, and youth organizations can host a program.
Become a facilitator
Training for teachers, volunteers, university students, and community educators.
With thanks to our partners and supporters
Meet themProgram partners
Ready to power the next lab?
Start a conversation, make an introduction, or explore a partnership.