Fröbel's forgotten gift: textile construction kits as pathways into play, design and computation

Authors:
Yasmin B. Kafai;Kylie A. Peppler;Quinn Burke;Michael Moore;Diane Glosson
Affiliations:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Venue:
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Year:
2010

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Abstract

Reflecting on one of Fröbel's overlooked "gifts", sewing and embroidery, this paper explores a recent renaissance in commercially available textile construction kits for children. Through a survey of such kits, we argue that revisiting embroidery in this digital age is a powerful leverage to introduce computation into material culture. In particular, we highlight the evolution of recent children's textile construction kits beginning with the Barbie Fashion Designer in 1996 then moving onto more recent developments, like the LilyPad Arduino, that combines computation, ICT, fashion and craft. We discuss the implications of these designs for learning, play, and broadening participation in computing fields.