Hands-on learning
Activity Library
14 activities for teaching AI concepts through play, conversation, and creative thinking. Most require no computer at all.
Feed the Robot
Give your stuffed-animal robot step-by-step instructions to make a snack — and watch what happens when those instructions are too vague. A delightfully silly introduction to precise instructions for the youngest AI learners.
The Sorting Hat Game
Sort a pile of toys into groups — then change the rules and sort them all over again. This simple game teaches that categories are choices, not facts, which is one of the most important ideas in AI classification.
The Instructions Game
Write step-by-step instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — then watch a parent follow them literally. This hilarious activity teaches children exactly why computers need precise, unambiguous instructions.
Pattern Detective
Collect objects from around the house, sort them into groups, and predict what comes next in sequences. This tactile activity shows how AI finds patterns in data — which is the foundation of machine learning.
Teach Grandma to Sort
Teach a family member your sorting rules for a pile of objects — then test whether they learned. This two-player game reveals exactly how algorithms work: you're creating a system that someone else can follow without any explanation.
Train Your Parent
Your child becomes the AI trainer. They draw 10 pictures of cats (or anything), then 'train' a parent to recognize them from non-cats — teaching exactly how machine learning works without writing a single line of code.
AI or Human?
Look at pieces of writing, art, and music — and try to figure out which were made by AI and which by people. A surprisingly difficult game that sparks genuine conversation about creativity, authenticity, and what makes us human.
AI Story Remix
Write the opening of a story — then let an AI continue it. Read the AI's version together and critique what it got right, what it got wrong, and what it reveals about how AI 'understands' stories.
Build a Paper Chatbot
Design a chatbot on paper using decision trees and if/then logic. Children learn how conversational AI works by building one themselves — with nothing but markers, paper, and creative thinking.
The Bias Detective
Investigate how AI systems can be unfair — not out of malice, but because of the data they learned from. Children examine real examples of AI bias and work through the implications for fairness, accountability, and design.
The Recommendation Game
Simulate how Netflix and Spotify decide what to show you — using index cards, preference ratings, and a homemade algorithm. Teenagers discover why recommendation systems are powerful, addictive, and occasionally very wrong.
Deepfake Detective
Examine real and AI-generated images and videos side by side, learn the tells that reveal synthetic media, and develop the skeptical habits that protect against manipulation. A practical media literacy session for the AI age.
Jobs That Don't Exist Yet
Research careers that didn't exist 10 years ago, identify the patterns in how new work emerges, and then — using those patterns — predict what jobs will exist in 10 years. A career-thinking session grounded in real data.
The Prompt Engineer Challenge
Give the same task to an AI using five different prompts — then compare and score the results. Teenagers discover how dramatically prompt quality affects output, and practice the skill that matters most for working with AI effectively.