On May 16, 2009, learn more about Scratch, the free programming tool for kids.

A new book from No Starch Press, Super Scratch Programming Adventure!: Learn to Program By Making Cool Games makes it even easier to teach your kids basic programming skills.

Patrice Gans, a technology teacher and library-media specialist in Connecticut, reviews Super Scratch Programming Adventure (No Starch Press, 2012).

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. One of the best way to get young kids started on programming is with Scratch, the MIT-developed programming ...

Scratch is written in Squeak (more about that in a moment) and is an open source project. Downloads are available for Windows (Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7) and Mac OS X (10.4 or later).

MIT's Media Lab is gearing up for Scratch Day 2009, to introduce new people to their programming language for kids.