This resource guide details a series of hour-long workshops that help to provide a stepping stone for children to think of themselves as designers and inventors of artifacts, environments, and processes.
All technology starts with someone's idea or imagination.
Over the course of the workshop series, participants imagine inventions and then design them, analyze them, talk about them, redesign them, and develop promotional materials to market them. KAHooTZ is a secure, members-only internet area for children. When children discover the Wacky World of Whatchamacallits, one of three main online components, they investigate the design of both familiar objects and futuristic technology through online puzzles, games, and activities. When children get on the Word Wave they use KAHooTZ's innovative chat environment and mail to discuss their designs with peers and guest professionals. Through examples, it is possible to discover how to use draw and animation tools to create Xpressions, how to name the stuff made so that others can find it, and other strategies for working in the KAHooTZ environment.