There are a lot of great campaigns launching right now! This week I am featuring a bracelet for tweens and teens that is interactive, social, and programmable, an ABC book that caters to those who like their stories a little gross, a tongue-twisting game, and a science subscription box.
Happy Funding!
Jewelbots: Friendship Bracelets That Teach Girls to Code
One day in and Jewelbots has already fully funded, but it’s another option in the world of enticing girls to programming through jewelry. If you remember, I covered the successful fundraising campaign for Linkitz back in May, but Jewelbots seems to be targeting a slightly older audience (tweens and teens) and a more complex platform. Instead of using components to control the function and then changing them through a Scratch-based app like Linkitz, Jewelbots uses an app for immediate use and then, because they are open source, girls can use the Arduino IDE to code the bracelets to do whatever they want. This results in a high hackability factor, which makes me a fan.
Maybe it’s because I have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old boy, but this new book by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa (Code Monkey Save World, The Princess who Saved Herself) is ridiculously awesome. Boy tries to gross out sister, but there is a surprise twist at the end. The art alone is to die for, although I would expect nothing less from this team. Now, my kids would love it no matter what. They all are prolific readers and they started out obsessed with books like The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit. But I could see many kids being pulled into the hilarity of this story, even if reading isn’t their thing right now. And if you are really lucky, they will maintain that comedic proclivity their whole lives.
This is the kind of game I can see pulling out when I have a bunch of families over for a barbeque, we have had a bit of wine, and it’s not appropriate to pull out Cards Against Humanity. Are you with me? Quick learning curve, a bit of strategy, and I guarantee at least one friend will take it to a new level.
StemBox: Subscription Science Kits for Girls
I know, I know. Another subscription box. Another subscription box to get girls interested in science. Even so, I like this one. It’s decidedly low tech and to the point about creating a relationship between girls and the hard sciences. Don’t get me wrong, I love tinkering and tech, but that is not the only STEM path option. These kits are designed by a female scientist who is taking all that she loves about her discipline and trying to create an emotional connection for girls. Honestly, these kits could be used by both boys and girls without any issue since there aren’t any gendered items that I can see in the box.
I am a girl who was intentionally driven away from science by old school male teachers, and while I don’t know if I would have ended up in a STEM profession, it took me a long time to find my love of it again. This box seems like one approachable, accessible way to build confidence and help prevent that from happening to our girls today.
