💻 Coding · 🏫 Classroom tools
CS Unplugged
By Computer Science Education Research Group, University of Canterbury (New Zealand). Visit CS Unplugged
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
Free lessons that teach computer science ideas without a computer, using cards, string, crayons and games where kids move around. Topics include binary numbers, error detection, image representation, searching and sorting algorithms, and Kidbots, where one child gives instructions to another. Each topic lists an age range, mostly 5 to 10 with some for 11 to 14, plus printables, curriculum links and optional 'plugging it in' programming challenges. There is also an at-home section for families.
Our take: A great free pick for teachers and homeschool parents who want screen-free computing lessons; kids who want to start coding right away need a separate tool.
| Ages it suits | about 5-14 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Not stated; the site has no terms of use or accounts, and the content is free under a Creative Commons license. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free and open source under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI |
What's good
- Teaches real computer science ideas with no screens
- Free, open, printable and translated into several languages
- Clear age ranges per topic
- Built by university CS educators
Watch for
- Needs an adult to lead the activities
- Does not teach programming on its own
- Some activities need a group of kids
- No privacy policy posted
Data and privacy
Not stated; no privacy policy was found on the site, and it has no accounts or sign-up.
Does it work?
Unplugged teaching of computing has been studied widely, but this check did not find an independent study of this site's lessons; the makers are a university research group.
In the Big Index
- On the list 14 AI unplugged activities with no screen
- On the list 12 ways to teach kids how AI actually works
- On the list 23 best free sites for kids to learn coding
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.csunplugged.org/en/
- https://www.csunplugged.org/en/about/
- https://www.csunplugged.org/en/topics/
- https://www.csunplugged.org/en/at-home/
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.