Clever Kano

Clever Kano lets kids build computers and learn to code

NEW YORK — Don't count on your child becoming a rich professional coder some day just because he or she is using the new Kano computer and coding kit. But this clever, entertaining and educational build-your-own-computer kit promises to start him or her off on the right foot.

Kano is appropriate for any age but is squarely aimed at kids, 6 to 14, a sweet spot that includes my 10-year-old daughter, Sydney, and 7-year-old son, Samuel, who both helped me put Kano to the test. They declare it a hit.

Think of Kano the same way you and your family might approach an old-fashioned chemistry set, with curiosity, creativity and a sense that you're doing something together.

The appeal is made more evident when you consider Kano's success on Kickstarter, where the London-based company has raised more than $1.5 million. (It's also not the only one of its kind — a company called Piper is developing something similar.)

The Kano kits, which you can pre-order at Kano.me, cost $149.99.

Kano is built on top of a Linux operating system variant used with the International Space Station and includes a custom programming approach called Kano Blocks that can actually output real code in Javascript and Python.

It comes with most of the plug-in components required to build a fully functioning PC: a compact computer board (called Raspberry Pi), an orange Bluetooth keyboard (with trackpad), speaker, HDMI and USB cables, USB Wi-Fi dongle, 8 GB memory card, power plug, clear case, plus stencils and stickers.

Building the computer is supposed to be as easy as making something with Lego, and for the most part that's true, notwithstanding one or two minor hiccups. The illustrated instructional booklets that come with Kano are friendly. Pieces snap into place. No screws are required.

Dad did have to handle the more delicate task of connecting a speaker wire to pins on a circuit board.

The company also inadvertently sent me a kit with a European power adapter instead of the North American version, though you can draw power by connecting a USB cable from Kano to another computer.

The biggest challenge many families will face is that you must supply your own monitor. A TV with an available HDMI port filled the bill in my house, though some adult intervention was required to get Kano to display properly on the screen.

My kids were jazzed while putting the computer together and felt a great sense of accomplishment a half hour or so in when they saw lines of code appear on the TV followed by these words: "Hello! I'm KANO. Thanks for bringing me to life. What should I call you?"

Before the set-up process is complete kids are asked to pick a cool name and request permission to continue from a parent or teacher by submitting the grown-up's e-mail address. Kano also spent about 15 minutes downloading a software update, perhaps the only point at which Sydney and Samuel's patience was tried.

While the download was taking place, Kano served up an interesting tidbit: In 1978, the fastest computer in the world was a $7 million Cray 1 that weighed as much as an average elephant. Kano is four times faster than the Cray 1. Put in perspective, Kano is roughly the size of a box of Crayola crayons, though it seemed a tad poky by today's computing standards.

Early thrills came when sound was first detected, though the speaker isn't great. Another, when what had been mostly a monochrome display went full blast into color. Kano can show 16.7 million colors, in fact.

But building the computer is only half the fun. The next stage, and the heart of what Kano is, introduces the kids to coding. Using a modular visual programming approach called Kano Blocks — you click on a block and drag it into a workspace as if building a jigsaw puzzle — kids can "make" and modify age-old games such as Snake andPong or tackle a more current addiction in Minecraft.

Along the way, kids can customize characters and backgrounds. They can earn badges for meeting certain challenges.

The computer handles standard stuff, too — browsing, sending e-mail, playing music or video.

For all its presumed simplicity, there's a definite learning curve for younger children, and on occasion the computer wasn't responsive. Samuel struggled to get going withSnake, just as it took Sydney time to learn to make stuff in Minecraft, a game she excels at on other computers.

If you're really advanced, Kano promises to let you make everything from a wireless server to a radio station.

My kids didn't get that far, but they were engaged and for the most part stuck with Kano. They made it clear that they want me to buy the Kano kit. "It's very cool how we put it together," Samuel told me. Perhaps the riches of Silicon Valley are in my kids' futures after all.