Mi Ani (Who Am I?): An exploration of Jewish identity through robotics

An important challenge for minority and diaspora populations is how to maintain their sense of identity from generation to generation by encouraging positive affiliation to the community among their young people. This project engages children in an educational experience that promotes exploration of issues of identity by inviting them to create robotic creatures as alter-egos and program their behaviors in response to both Jewish (minority culture) and secular (majority mainstream) events that happen throughout the academic calendar in an American Jewish day school kindergarten classroom. For example, a child programmed her robot to turn on its lights when reaching the month of December to express the lighting of the Hanukah candles. By programming their robots to perform actions, children explored their relationship with Judaism through dynamic behaviors, rather than static symbols or objects.