Kids Tech Day is scheduled at the Kansas City Convention Center this Saturday, offering kids ages 5 to 17 hands-on time with robotics, coding, drones and virtual reality, plus technology giveaways. Kids Tech Day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and organizers say more than 1,000 people have already registered.
The event is put on by WeCode KC, a nonprofit dedicated to technology education, workforce development, leadership training and hands-on STEAM learning, according to KCUR. This year's Kids Tech Day is scheduled alongside the Kansas City Developer Conference, according to Startland News. WeCode KC collaborated with the developer conference, sponsors, volunteers, community partners and technology organizations to put the event together, KCUR's report notes.
Attendees can expect robotics, coding, drones, gaming, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, digital arts, engineering challenges and career exploration stations, per the same account. The event also includes technology giveaways alongside the interactive STEAM activities, according to SeedOps. Swag bags will go to the first 500 attendees, and this year's edition promises more vendors, hands-on activities, community partners and technology demonstrations than any previous Kids Tech Day, the station's report adds.
A Growing Event With Local Roots
Kids Tech Day has grown quickly since its earlier runs. Last year's event drew more than 400 children and adults, and WeCode KC says it hopes to make the event bigger every year and eventually attract participants from outside Kansas City, the article notes. WeCode KC's work includes serving Kansas City's youth.
The extras this year include slime demonstrations and play, a mad science show, an AI photo booth, a MINDDRIVE race car and food trucks, per the KCUR report. Isha “Ice” Williams, marketing coordinator for WeCode KC, said young Kansas Citians' interactions with technology should focus on innovation, job skills and entrepreneurship rather than only screen time, according to the same account.
WeCode KC founder and CEO Tammy Buckner said Kids Tech Day helps youth gain technology exposure, connect with professionals and discover future educational and career opportunities, KCUR reports. Buckner founded WeCode KC in 2019 after more than two decades of working in tech as a software developer, project manager and business analyst, motivated by the lack of Black and female representation she experienced in the industry, according to The Beacon. The organization operates out of its headquarters at 5008 Prospect Ave, focusing its free and low-cost coding sessions on youth in lower-income urban neighborhoods, per the same outlet.
Addressing a Wider Industry Gap
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data showed that Black individuals made up 14% of the overall private industry workforce and 7.4% of the tech sector workforce, The Beacon reported. A national study by the National Center for Women & Information Technology found that Black women accounted for just 3% of the U.S. technology workforce in 2021, according to the same outlet.
Buckner's work has drawn statewide recognition beyond Kids Tech Day. Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe named her one of 10 statewide recipients of the Women of Achievement Award in March 2023, according to Startland News. WeCode KC has also expanded its career pathways beyond one-day events, partnering with KIPP Legacy High School in Kansas City to launch WeCodeThaBloKC, a cybersecurity-focused program for high school students, per a separate KCUR report.
WeCode KC says over 95% of its workforce program graduates secure employment or advance their education within six months of completing training, according to the organization. Kids Tech Day is intended to create equitable access to technology education and workforce opportunities, opening doors to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics through interactive experiences designed for the whole family.
