Kano makes coding magic with Harry Potter wand kit

Kano has announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to launch the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit, the first-ever Harry Potter STEM product.

Kano has been doing great things but don’t think that they have simply stamped Harry’s lightning mark on a Raspberry Pi.

The new kit is actually a build-it-yourself wireless wand! Furthermore, it will show fans of all ages how to code and create.

Soon you (or your kids) will be able to flick and swish through more than 70 challenges inspired by the Wizarding World.

Kano Harry Potter wand STEM kit

The wand works with software and a connected app to capture movements and turn them into rich effects. Expect it to make serpents slither, toads transfigure, fires flow, feathers float, goblets duplicate, Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans enlarge, you get the idea.

By following the step-by-step coding manual, you build a wand, and learn about sensors, data and code along the way.

The wand combines a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer to detect its own location and speed in tridimensional space. Basically, all that makes it capable of tracking your hand movement.

These sensors allow it to place a cursor on screen exactly where you point it. Additionally, it will also recognise the motions of some signature spells. You can also code the wand’s light and rumble pack.

Kano app

Once the wand has been assembled you just need the Kano app. This enables you to start unlocking challenges across six iconic Wizarding World settings. Naturally, you get to explore Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and The Forbidden Forest.

The creative challenges teach the fundamentals of coding and introduce the basic concepts of real-world programming thanks to a block-based interface and a JavaScript inspector. These are all tackled using simple steps.

Alex Klein, Co-Founder and CEO of Kano told us:

We’re surrounded by technology in our homes, workplaces and pockets, yet only a small percent of people, less than 1% of 1%, understand the happenings behind the screen. We are thrilled to partner with Warner Bros Consumer Products to inspire people of all ages, all over the world to make their own code, and see how easy it can be to understand, play and create with it.”

Price and availability

The Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit is now available for pre-order for £99 at Kano.me.

The kit will go on sale worldwide at Kano.me and retailers in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand starting October 1st, 2018. Yup, get your pre-orders in now for Christmas 😉