cirkits

Cirkits is a sewable electronics kit for children designed to introduce circuitry, computing, and making through hands-on play. I worked on the design of the kit, which reimagines the traditional children’s stitchcard as an interactive electronic object. A series of sewn and photographed circus characters guide children through circuits of increasing complexity, using conductive thread, LEDs, batteries, motors, sound, and microcontrollers to bring each character to life.

The project grew out of five years of workshops and research with hundreds of children and adults across Philadelphia, including programs at the Franklin Institute and Free Library of Philadelphia. Drawing inspiration from Friedrich Froebel’s 19th-century educational toys, Cirkits combines craft and contemporary technology to create an accessible entry point into electronics and engineering. The project was ultimately developed into a Kickstarter campaign, translating the research and prototypes into a consumer-facing product designed for production, packaging, and distribution.