An innovative educational robotics kit that costs less than $20 dollars to make and is sent to youth for free, increasing their technical competency and understanding with a culturally competent curriculum.
8,000+
Free robots sent
81%
Of our robots that go to our Indigenous communities
25k+
Users making robots on our Make-A-Robot Platform
100%
Designed by youth for youth for free
MIT Solve 2021 Indigenous Community Fellowship Winner
EKGAR
Has won....
MIT Solve 2021 Indigenous Communities Fellowship Winner
The American Student Assistance Prize for Equitable Education Winner
2021 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prize Winner
We design, manufacture, distribute, and teach with our robots.
Our story
Robots are educational tools of the future and our youth deserve to be able to access them. We created an accessible and affordable robot to make it happen.
When our young founder saw how much robots cost and how many students in her community couldn't access technical education, she developed Every Kid Gets a Robot (EKGAR) when she was just 18-years-old. She firsthand experienced the barriers that existed in getting kids into science and tech, especially within her own Indigenous community. She knew something had to change, so she opened her engineering design software and started creating.
Education in technology enables economic development, connectivity, and innovation. Technical skills are becoming more important in all areas, but our youth are getting left behind. When not exposed to essential educational programming focused on robotics, digital design, and coding, it is near impossible to break into the most influential fields. Educational robotics strengthen and support students' technical skills in a project based and fun way through the creation, design, assembly, and operation of robots.
So we created an affordable option named EKGAR. EKGAR is a robotics kit that increases educational accessibility for youth. It costs less than 20 USD to manufacture and is sent to youth for free to teach key technical skills in everything from reading wiring diagrams to coding with a culturally competent curriculum. It consists of four one-of-a-kind 3D printed components and low cost ESP32 technology. It’s simple to manufacture, and we make the bots with recycled plastic. As of Spring 2022, we started providing a Starter Kit that focuses on basic assembly and electrical engineering skills that costs less than $11 USD to make.
Our robots get sent to educational institutions and organizations with an emphasis on Indigenous communities with class sets that are sponsored by our corporate partners. We provide robots for grades K-12 but emphasize middle school youth. 96% of our robots have been sent to Indigenous youths.
EKGAR has proven itself to be a solution of the future, reaching over 33,000 youths and educators, significantly increasing students' technical understanding , and influencing 90% of users to want to pursue a STEM career. We also have a virtual learning Make-A-Robot platform for users to make their own robots.
Let's build the future together. One robot at a time.
Teaching key engineering skills
Assembly
Manufacturing
Coding
Wiring
Design
How They're Made
Designed and hand assembled with care by our team, complete with custom and representative art made by our founder.
Get Robots
Are you are an educational institution, organization, or nonprofit? Fill out our quick form to access our Make-A-Robot Platform to make your own robots or get your own kits sent to you for your next event. After our screening process, we will provide next steps with a plan that works for you.
We do our best to screen everyone filling out our form quickly, but please be patient with us. We are a small team of all youth volunteers and receive tens of thousands of applications weekly and have a lead time of several months. Robots are distributed based on supply. We are not able to reply to everyone, and only approve applications that align with our mission and are organization-based.
Every Kid Gets a Robot
Making Tech Accessible
Every Kid Gets a Robot was designed in 3D modeling software, SOLIDWORKS, by our founder.
Mechanical
The robot is manufactured from the bioplastic PLA and consists of four 3D-printed pieces. The assembly process and CAD background teaches design and additive manufacturing knowledge.
Electrical
The robot operates on an ESP32 Development Board and utilizes a simple circuit with a breadboard that can be edited easily by the student to add more features. Students learn how to read an electrical diagram and effectively create a circuit.
Software
The robot is programmed in the open-source Arduino IDE (Java, C, and C++). It is app-controlled via a program we wrote, hosted on Blynk. For students who don't have access to WiFi, there is a loop pre-programmed on the microcontroller for use.
Innovation
How Every Kid Gets a Robot stands out.
Education
EKGAR teaches advanced technical skills in robotics, digital design, coding, and more in an approachable, accessible, and culturally competent way for youth who may not have exposure to these resources otherwise. These skills are all key for an ever-improving future that can be difficult to teach without significant funding, which is why this solution is so unique. We have implemented a model of hybrid hands-on and virtual learning to reach both the student and educator.
Cost
EKGAR is affordable, costing less than $20 USD to make, and is sent to youth for free. This cost includes the power supply, mechanical and electrical components, 3D prints, traction, fasteners, and connectors. The robot is WiFi and Bluetooth compatible. As of Spring 2022, we started rolling out a Starter Kit, breaking EKGAR down into two steps to better suit large educational events.
Design
EKGAR allows children to assemble, wire, and program their own robots in an intuitive way. The simple and unique 3D printed pieces allow components to easily fit on the robot body. The design is durable, easily replicable on multiple 3D printers (and a new mold that we are developing for classrooms without printers), cost-effective, and unique. The electrical circuits and mechanical designs are editable by students, ensuring continuous learning for students.
Sustainable
Our robots shouldn't last longer in the world than us. The EKGAR kits that we manufacture are made out of recycled plastic and we will be launching our biodegradable robotics components in 2022. The majority of the packaging that our electronics comes in is reused on the robot. We offer a Return-A-Robot Program to allow students to return their robots to be reused and recycled if they so wish.
For our sustainability efforts
EKGAR
Has won....
2021 Verizon Forward for Good Challenge Winner
2021 VentureWell E-Teams Grant
2020 Brower Youth Award by Earth Island Institute
funding & distribution
How we are able to offer our robots for free and what that means for your classroom. When applying for robots, indicate your financial need on our form. Robots are distributed based on both supply and need.
One on One
An educational organization or institution requests a set number of robots for their classroom. The organization funds their desired number of kits and gives them to their students for free or keep them in their classroom for continued use.
Partnership
We form a three-pronged partnership between The STEAM Connection, an educational organization in need of robots, and a sponsor who wants to fund a set number of robots. The robots are sent to the students for free. This method is often used for special or annual events.
Donations
Via our consistent flow of donations to our organization, we provide robots for free to organizations and individuals who apply here.