Welcome to PLIX OctoStudio! Bring the physical world into interactive stories, animations, and games on mobile devices with easy on-the-go creative coding.
🥰 Ages 8+ 🕐 1.5 Hours 👩👧👦 up to 10 Participants 🍎 1–2 Facilitators 📱Tablet or phone 🎨 Craft Materials
Whether you are new to block-based coding, or are a whiz at Scratch, OctoStudio is a playful app that (sneakily) introduces the principles of programming to ages 8+ while having fun.
What We ❤️ About This Activity
By exploring ways to bring themselves into a project through voice or images, learners can begin telling a story or creating a game. Craft materials can be used to extend the activity into the physical world. This is a great way for young people (of all ages!) to see themselves represented in code.
Imagine
Activities can be adapted in many ways — below are some ideas to help you imagine how your activity might look like.
Remix an idea prompt
Get inspiration from the PLIX Community
OctoStudio Book Connections
Press Here by Hervé Tullet—the perfect story to pair with a project that's activated by a tap! Recommended by the Tinkering Studio. Ages 5+
by PLIX Ambassador Mallory Parsons
Bring plush toys to life in this crafty and successful group project from PLIX Ambassador Mallory Parsons.
by Instituto Catalisador
Through a framework embodying creative learning, our Brazilian friends at Instituto Catalisador use their Circles of Invention to integrate reading, making, and narratives to bring OctoStudio to low-income families in São Paulo.
By PLIX Ambassador Jean Daley
This silly adventure of a little crab includes a photo from PLIX Ambassador Jean Daley’s library aquarium!
By PLIX Ambassador Emily Hutchison
Create a View (like curtains, windows, or picture frames): PLIX Ambassador Emily Hutchinson giggled a lot creating this dancing diva OctoStudio project, with paper curtains to add extra fun.
by the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium
Dive into surprising ways to experiment with patterns, symmetry, and repetition.
by the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium
Use stories, scenes, and characters as inspiration for your projects!
by the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium
Arrange materials to make portraits and animate them with code.
by the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium
Hide coded surprises inside the pages of a magazine.
by the PLIX Team
Add a handheld microscope to a phone or tablet to play in microscopic worlds with OctoStudio!
Prepare
Gather materials
Physical materials are not required for playing with OctoStudio, but it does provide a playful space for learners to engage with drawing and cutting, or their favorite toys and books. To encourage learners to try it out, create examples that includes physical materials
Review and Print Resources
PLIX Zines are a supplementary resource for patrons and librarians to refer to. Use our guide to cut and assemble them.
Love our zine, but it doesn’t fit your adaptation of the activity? Remix our zine with this Google Slides template!
Print and cut these cards to spark ideas of ways to interact in OctoStudio
Jump right into promoting your OctoStudio workshop with this flyer template
Facilitate
This activity is designed to invite learners of all backgrounds into creating with code. The materials used in this activity are intentionally low-cost and friendly to encourage participants to try new things, mess around, make mistakes, and experiment.
Tips
⏱️ Making time for OctoStudio
Especially for those new to OctoStudio, if you plan for a 1-hour workshop, it usually ends up becoming 1.5-hour workshops.
🥔 Play hot potato
Every few minutes, switch who works on the project, adding new surprises each time!
👩✈️ Co-pilot a project
While one person adds blocks to the project, the other person makes suggestions for fun blocks to try out!
🧩 Play and connect like a jigsaw puzzle
Work on different parts of your idea, then reconnect! Try something with craft materials when the other person is on the device.
into creative learning facilitation with our Self-Guided Mini Course. It’ll also help you get started running your first PLIX workshop.
About PLIX OctoStudio
OctoStudio is a creative coding app developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.
Other ways to engage with PLIX OctoStudio
- Questions? Ask them on the PLIX Discussion Forum!
- Share your experience running this activity on Twitter or Instagram and tag us @heyplix