The accompanying SugarCoded app aids in helping teach girls to code with assignments and stories.
SmartGurlz and its Siggy Robot are making its debut in the United States, having already been named Trend Toy of 2017 for Girl Power at Spielwarenmesse, the largest international trade fair for toys.SmartGurlz was created by Sharmi Albrechtsen who created the world’s first self-balancing coding robot for girls to help her own daughter take an active interest in STEM education. Now that creation hopes to inspire women inventors, engineers, mathematicians and more of tomorrow.
Meant for girls ages 6 and up, the robot will help girls learn to see science, technology, engineering and math in a new light. SmartGurlz is a toy brand whose line of self-balancing robots and action dolls encourage young women to become programmers.
“The number of women coders has been in decline since the mid-eighties, and we are sorely underrepresented in Silicon Valley,” says Albrechtsen. “Coding robots have been big for a while, but they’ve never been tailored to appeal to girls--before now.”
SmartGurlz look just like other dolls, but come with a programmable Siggy scooter that will teach programming skills. The robots use story-based missions, adventures, games and books. Each doll also comes with a background personality such as chemist, computer hacker, or mathematician. The SugarCoded app for smartphones and tablets teaches girls to code with fun assignments and stories.
