Scratch: Open-source programming for kids

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(Credit: MIT)

Peter Lofgren of Redpill (Sweden) sent over a link to Scratch, a cool open-source project from MIT Media Labs. The purpose? Make programming easy and approachable for kids as young as eight-years old. If the gallery of existing projects is any indicator, it seems to be working.

Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design.

I like the fact that Scratch makes development easy, but it also teaches correct principles. As an open-source project, it teaches kids how to interact with the new world of open development. Anyone out there have kids that have used Scratch and can offer up a testimonial?