Unit 1
Intro to AI
What is artificial intelligence, really? Discover how machines learn from examples.
Start here
Five units, zero experience needed
These are the same units taught in Baltimore classrooms and libraries. Every unit includes vocabulary, hands-on activities, reading, design challenges, and reflection and every one works with or without a computer. ~60 min per session
Unit 2
Intro to Coding
Learn how programming powers AI systems, and build your problem-solving skills through coding activities.
Unit 3
Pattern Recognition
Patterns are how AI "sees" the world. Train yourself to find them first then see if a machine can beat you.
Unit 4
Smart Cities
How can AI help with agriculture, waste, water, renewable energy, and transportation? Design solutions for your community.
Unit 5
Facial Recognition
How does your phone know your face? Explore biometrics, algorithms, false positives and the big fairness questions they raise.
Featured activity
Download activity PDF ↗
Panda Detective
Our most popular activity: use a ruler to measure facial landmarks on printed panda sheets, exactly the way a facial-recognition algorithm compares biometric data.
Can you tell?
AI vs Human Arena
Two poems about the ocean — one written by a student, one by AI. Vote first, then find out who wrote what. 2 min challenge
Poem A
The ocean doesn't care about my plans,
it swallows Wednesday like a crumb.
Salt makes every cut remember
what it means to be alive and dumb.
I stood there till the tide came home,
my sneakers soaked, my homework gone —
and understood, for just a second,
what the whole world hums along.
it swallows Wednesday like a crumb.
Salt makes every cut remember
what it means to be alive and dumb.
I stood there till the tide came home,
my sneakers soaked, my homework gone —
and understood, for just a second,
what the whole world hums along.
— Maya, Grade 8
Poem B
The ocean stretches wide and deep,
its waves roll in a steady beat.
The water blue, the sky above,
a timeless song of nature's love.
Each crashing wave erases sand,
yet leaves the shore to rise and stand.
The sea reminds us every day:
that change sweeps all our fears away.
its waves roll in a steady beat.
The water blue, the sky above,
a timeless song of nature's love.
Each crashing wave erases sand,
yet leaves the shore to rise and stand.
The sea reminds us every day:
that change sweeps all our fears away.
— Generated by AI
Which poem do you think was written by a human?
Reveal: Poem A was written by a real student. AI writing often sounds polished but can lack personal detail and surprise. In our pilot, votes split almost 50/50 — proof it's harder than it looks!
Explore & experiment
AI Playground
Six free, browser-based tools that let you play with real AI — no downloads, no accounts needed for most. 10–30 min per tool
Quick Draw (Google)
Can AI guess your drawings in 20 seconds? Scribble something and watch a neural network try to recognize it in real time!
Teachable Machine
Train a real AI model in your browser using your webcam or microphone. Teach it to recognize poses, sounds, or images!
Scratch AI Extensions
Make AI-powered interactive stories and games using Scratch's familiar drag-and-drop coding environment with AI blocks!
ML for Kids
Build machine learning projects with Scratch. Train text, image, or sound classifiers, then code with them in Scratch or Python!
AI Experiments (Google)
Explore 50+ creative AI experiments — make music with AI, have a conversation with a neural net, generate art, and more!
AutoDraw (Google)
AI helps you draw better sketches! Start drawing anything and AutoDraw suggests professional clip-art versions in real time.
Get inspired
Example projects
Here's the kind of thing students like you can build. Finish one? Submit it through the Ask an AI Mentor form below. 5 min to browse
Plant Disease Detector
Train a Teachable Machine model to identify common tomato plant diseases from photos, and help a family or community garden stay healthy.
AI Sign Language Tutor
Build a webcam-based sign language recognition game with ML5.js that helps younger students learn basic ASL signs through play.
Mood-Based Playlist Maker
Use Scratch AI extensions and emoji input to build a program that suggests songs based on how you're feeling after school.
These are example project ideas to spark your imagination — your project can be anything you care about.
Get help
Ask an AI Mentor
Stuck on a project? Curious about how AI works? Submit your question and our community mentors will answer. 2 min to ask
Submit your question
No question is too basic, we were all beginners once. Mentors typically respond within 24-48 hours.
Recent questions & answers
Why does my Teachable Machine model keep getting confused?
Great question! Your model is probably confused because your training images look too similar to each other, or you don't have enough variety. Try adding at least 30–50 images per class, taken from different angles and lighting conditions. The more varied your training data, the better your model will generalize to new examples.
Is AI going to take everyone's jobs? Should I be worried?
It's a fair thing to wonder about! AI does automate some tasks, but it also creates new jobs and changes what existing jobs look like. The best thing you can do is learn how AI works — people who understand AI will be in huge demand. You're already ahead of the curve just by being here!
How do I explain my AI project to judges at a science fair?
Start with the problem you were trying to solve, then explain what data you used to train your model, and finally show what your AI can do. Use simple analogies — for example, "I taught my AI the same way you'd teach a dog tricks: show it examples, reward correct answers, repeat." Judges love seeing that you understand why it works, not just that it works.