Engaging Pre-teens in Ideating and Programming Smart Objects Through Play

Recent research advocates the role of protagonist for children in design: children should participate across different design stages, from ideation to programming, so that they learn through it. However it is not straightforward how to organise a design workshop with children across different design stages, above all in a short time span. This paper tackles such issue. It presents a workshop with children ideating, programming and prototyping smart objects, structured around a card-based board game, and in the time-span of two days. Results are contextual but support that children’s engagement across design stages can be fostered by the game-based structure.