The Pixel Boards demonstrate representation, specifically image representation and how computers use numbers to represent images. Using black and white marbles as pixels, children create images based on simple numerical codes of 1s and 0s, and can design and code their own images. With 3 different sizes of pixel boards, children can see the change in resolution—as the number of pixels increases, so does the amount of detail. The medium Pixel Board is an 8 x 8 grid, holding 64 tiles.

Ages 4+

Features

• Researched and developed at the MIT Media Lab

• Completely analog: no screens or digital tech

• Simple and beautiful, with safe and natural materials 

• Designed for children ages 3-9

• Sensorial and playful exploration 

• Foundational building blocks for computation

• Concrete learning for coding

• Exploring representation, 1-to-1 correspondence, abstraction, patterning, and simple coding.