Dr. Weipeng Yang (then working in Singapore) saw the promise of tools like Bee-Bot/KIBO (via the "PlayMaker" initiative) — but imported kits were costly, hard to maintain, and disconnected from local kids’ lives. He pivoted to Chinese-made, child-centric tools (e.g., Shenzhen's Matatalab and MakeBlock) and drafted a curriculum that tied coding to picture book stories rooted in Hong Kong's local communities.

In 2021, upon joining The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), Dr. Yang secured Research Grants Council (RGC) funding to launch the Story-Inspired Robotics Coding Curriculum. Tested with 11 non-profit Hong Kong kindergartens (K3 level), this prototype let kids solve story-based problems via hands-on coding — and evolved quickly: we added Cantonese support, simplified screen-free activities, and aligned with Hong Kong's 2017 Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide.

By 2023, a second RGC grant scaled this work into PlayBot: a fully realized program centered on the Tale-Bot Pro (a screen-free robot kit built for ages 3–5). Today, PlayBot partners with dozens of Hong Kong kindergartens, providing free kits, teacher training, and research-backed 8-week curricula — all to help young learners build computational thinking, creativity, and collaboration through play.

PlayBot is now a research-backed, community-focused early childhood robotics program deeply embedded in Hong Kong’s kindergarten classrooms — and we’re growing with purpose.

Our Key Accomplishments

• Partnered with 30+ Hong Kong Kindergartens: We’ve brought PlayBot to schools across 8 districts (Kwun Tong, Yuen Long, Sai Kung, etc.), reaching over 500 children from diverse family backgrounds.

• Two RGC-Funded Initiatives: Our work is supported by Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council (projects: Robot Programming Through Play and Story-Inspired Robotics Coding Curriculum), grounding our program in rigorous, local evidence.

• Free, Sustainable Resources: Every participating kindergarten gets complimentary Tale-Bot Pro screen-free robot kits (kept permanently) + full teaching materials — low cost to schools, ensuring long-term access.

• Trained 100+ Educators: We’ve equipped teachers (many with no prior coding experience) to lead playful robotics lessons via specialized workshops and ongoing support.

Our Latest Wins (2024–2025)

• Wrapped Phase 2 Program Rollout: We completed our 8-week 2024–2025 curriculum with 9 new kindergartens, refining activities based on educator feedback.

• Published Impact Findings: Our study (featured in Journal of Educational Computing Research) confirmed our intervention boosts both spatial reasoning and emotional regulation, with equitable benefits in computational thinking and prosocial skills for disadvantaged children. 

What We’re Most Proud of

• We center Hong Kong’s unique needs: Our curriculum aligns with the 2017 Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide and avoids “one-size-fits-all” imported tools.

• We prioritize healthy tech learning: Our 100% screen-free approach protects kids’ digital wellbeing while teaching foundational skills.

• We empower every child: Low-income and diverse-background learners gain equal access to hands-on robotics — no barriers to participation.

Today, we’re prepping Phase 3 (2026–2028) to reach more kindergartens — and keep making playful, purposeful learning accessible to all young Hong Kongers.