KidsLab - a podcast for parents and educators passionate about STEAM education

In this episode, we’re talking to Shireen Hafeez, the founder of an organisation called Deaf Kids Code - and as you may guess, this organisation’s goal is to promote, inspire, empower, and spark the innovative spirit of people who are deaf or hard of hearing through the world of programming. The shownotes and a full transcription of this episode is available at https://kidslab.dev/2020/02/17/deaf-kids-code-with-shireen-hafeez/

We’re talking to Giles Booth about the BBC micro:bit. Giles is the Educational Content Manager at the BBC Microbit Foundation, and also used to teach Computer Science and ICT in primary and secondary schools in London.The BBC micro:bit is a device about half the size of a credit card, plugs into a computer via a micro usb cable and then can easily be programmed via some web-based editors. In the end you download the compiled program with the click of a button in one of the editors and drag it...

This interview is with Helen Leigh - she is a creative technologist, author and maker with a focus on playful use of new technologies. In this episode, we’re also looking at The Crafty Kid’s Guide to DIY Electronics - a book she has written which is filled which awesome projects for parents and their kids. But besides this, we’re discussing the recent Chaos Communication Congress in Leipzig, projects such as the mi:mu glove for kids and way more crafting and electronics projects. https:/...

In this episode, we’re talking to Rachel and Rodi Steinig about Math Renaissance, a book all about mathematics and how math education can be evolved in the classroom. Together, Rodi and Rachel have written the book Math Renaissance which originally got successfully kickstarted a few years back and it’s all about growing math circles, changing the classroom and creating sustainable math education.https://kidslab.dev/2020/01/27/math-renaissance-with-rodi-and-rachel-steinig/

We’re talking to Sasha Ariel Alston, the author of Sasha Savvy Loves to Code - a children’s book that inspires girls to pursue STEM activities in a fun way.Sasha is from Washington, DC and she is a college student majoring in Information Systems at Pace University in New York City. With nine successful internships in the tech and business industries, she is a sought-after speaker to encourage youth to explore educational and career opportunities in STEM.So the book ‘Sasha Savvy Lov...

Rikke Paaskesen is the Educational Curriculum & Community Manager at KUBO Robotics, a Denmark-based edtech company. She is a teacher and educational sociologist and has a broad teaching experience with children and youngsters but has also been teaching students and adults.KUBO is a two-wheeled, little robot with color LEDs and also some sound effects. While there is an app available, it’s just used to update the robot in case of updates.To program the robot, the kids use so-called TagTile...

We’re talking to Stephan Noller, a German internet-entrepreneur and one of the key persons of the Calliope mini founding team. The Calliope mini is an educational microcontroller board that can easily be programmed by kids via the web-based editors. The Calliope mini is a single board computer that plugs into a computer via USB and can then be programmed via some web-based and mostly block-based editors. It is originally based on the BBC micro:bit that you might have heard of but augment...

We’re talking to Mitch Altman - a Berlin-based hacker and inventor, best known for inventing TV-B-Gone (a universal tv remote that turns out EVERYTHING), Mitch is a featured speaker at hacker conferences, he is an international expert on the hackerspace movement, and he is very known for teaching introductory electronics workshops. He is also Chief Scientist and CEO of Cornfield Electronics.https://kidslab.dev/2020/01/01/making-hacking-with-mitch-altman/Episode Photo uses “Portrait phot...

In this episode, we’re talking to Mimi Spahn Sattler. She is the Education Manager at Public Lab and is also an hands-on educator focusing on making environmental science and research accessible for all. We discuss the Community Microscope Kit but also some other Public Lab Projects, such as the Balloon Mapping Kit that originally started this organization. Public Lab is all about breaking down barriers of access, making science as approachable as it can be and involve everybody in this proce...

In this episode, we’re talking to Linda Liukas - Linda is the author and illustrator of Hello Ruby, a children’s picture book series about the whimsical world of computers, as well as the founder of Rails Girls, a global movement to teach young women programming in over 300 cities.Linda is a totally exceptional person. She’s originally from Helsinki, Finland. She’s created Kickstarter campaign for her book Hello Ruby in 2015 and this project totally went through the roof - by end she gathered...