Kano Computer Kit

Published · Researched 2026-09-21

Dossier ID: stem-toy-110 · Category: 1 — STEM robotics and coding · Researched: 2026-09-21

Overview

The Kano Computer Kit was the 2010s' beloved DIY kids' computer: a build-it-yourself Raspberry Pi 3 kit with a wireless keyboard/trackpad, speaker, light-board "Light Hat," and Kano OS — a kid-friendly operating system with story-driven coding challenges (make art with code, build games, hack Minecraft). London startup Kano launched it on Kickstarter in 2013 ($99), won design awards (Red Dot, Webby, Cannes Lions), raised tens of millions in venture funding (TechCrunch reported a $28M round), partnered with Warner Bros (Harry Potter coding wand, 2018) and Disney, shipped a Microsoft-partnered Kano PC ($299, 2019), then spun out its software (Kano World, Jan 2023), entered administration in June 2023, with assets sold to Ashdust LLP — a company connected to Kano CEO Alex Klein — per Wikipedia ("Kano Computing"). Under Ashdust the company continues (Stem brand), but Kano World itself was wound up in 2025 and the Computer Kit line is dead. The kits live on only as secondhand goods — this dossier is a legacy/discontinued entry: buy used, with eyes open.

Social standing

• Launch-era press (read): AllThingsD (2013) covered the $99 Kickstarter positioning — "a computer anyone can make"; TechCrunch (2023) covered the pivot away from DIY kits and the software spin-out.
• Wikipedia (read): Administration June 2023; assets acquired by Ashdust LLP; Kano World wound up in 2025 — the ecosystem is dead.
• Amazon listing (read): Says "Is Discontinued By Manufacturer: No" — this field is stale and contradicted by the administration record; treat it as unreliable.
• Manuals (manuals.plus): Full user guide and safety documentation for the B073VTCS66 kit remain available — useful for secondhand buyers.
• Main praise (historical): The best "my first real computer" ever sold — real Linux, real Python, real hardware assembly; story-driven Kano OS challenges; award-winning industrial design; the Harry Potter wand partnership was a genuine cultural moment.
• Main complaints (current): Kit line dead — no warranty, no Kano World (the online community/sharing platform was wound up in 2025), no OS updates; secondhand units may have aging batteries and worn keyboards; Raspberry Pi 3 is now two generations old.
• Popularity pulse: Nostalgia and secondhand-market activity; beloved by the maker community but a retired product — no living community, no new buyers in the official channel.

SAFETY

• Material: Plastic case, Raspberry Pi 3 board, wireless keyboard with built-in rechargeable battery, speaker, cables.
• Certifications: Item-specific CE/FCC/ASTM documentation for the kit as sold — UNVERIFIED (company defunct; no certificates located; historical retail sale implies conformity at the time, but do not assume).
• Chemical smell/off-gassing: No reports found (and no current production).
• Battery: Wireless keyboard/trackpad contains a rechargeable cell; kit includes power supply. Secondhand risk: aging lithium cells in a ~5–10-year-old keyboard — inspect for swelling before use; replace if in doubt.
• Small parts / sharp edges: Small screws and standoffs in the build — choking hazard for under-3s; the build is an adult-with-child activity.
• Electrical: Raspberry Pi runs on 5V USB power — low-voltage, inherently safer than mains-powered kits; still, inspect secondhand power supplies for damage.
• Recalls: No CPSC recall found for the Kano Computer Kit as of 2026-09-21.
• Counterfeit/clone risk: Moderate — secondhand market only; verify the seller's photos show genuine Kano branding and the full parts list (keyboard, Light Hat, cables); unbranded "Raspberry Pi kids kit" listings are not Kano kits.

Key specs table

Pricing

• Cheap now, expensive later: The kit itself is whatever the secondhand market asks. The real cost is time: no Kano World, no updates, no warranty — you're buying a Raspberry Pi 3 in a nice orange case and maintaining it yourself. For a tinkerer parent that's a feature; for a plug-and-play gift buyer, it's a trap. Budget for a replacement SD card and a fresh OS image (Raspberry Pi OS) because Kano OS is unmaintained.

What's included / what's needed

• Included (original retail box): Kano case, Raspberry Pi 3, wireless keyboard/trackpad, speaker, Light Hat, HDMI cable, power supply, Kano OS memory card, stickers, storybook manual.
• Needed (secondhand buyer): Verify all parts present; a monitor/TV with HDMI; replacement SD card + Raspberry Pi OS image recommended; inspect keyboard battery and power supply.

Support reality

• Effectively none for the kit. Kano Computing entered administration in June 2023; assets went to Ashdust LLP (Wikipedia); the Kano World online platform was wound up in 2025. No warranty, no official kit support, no OS updates — regardless of any residual Stem-brand activity.
• Community knowledge survives in maker forums and the archived manuals; the Raspberry Pi foundation's own documentation covers the underlying hardware.

Community verdict

A landmark product and a dead company. As a secondhand buy for a tinkerer family — a Raspberry Pi 3 in the nicest case ever made, with a legendary storybook manual — it's still a lovely thing. As a gift expecting a living ecosystem, it's a trap: no updates, no community, no warranty. Buy it for the hardware and the nostalgia, maintain it yourself, and pay secondhand prices only.

Images

• img-01.jpg — Blog | Kano
• img-02.jpg — kano computer kit toy product photo
• img-03.jpg — image
• img-04.jpg — kano computer kit toy product photo
• img-05.jpg — image
• img-06.jpg — kano computer kit toy product photo
• img-07.jpg — image
• img-08.jpg — Get started at the very beginning with the Kano computer kit