Seymour Papert, Pioneer in Tech-Based Education for Kids, Passes Away at 88

August 3, 2016 | The Toy Industry Association (TIA) and its members join in mourning the death of Seymour Papert, an influential researcher and educator whose career centered on child development, artificial intelligence and educational technologies. His long-standing collaboration with LEGO served as inspiration for the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit, named after his 1980 book Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas. Papert died on July 31st at the age of 88 in East Blue Hill, Maine.

Born in 1928 in Pretoria, South Africa, Papert earned a BA in philosophy and doctorate in mathematics at the University of Witwatersrand, and went on to receive a second PhD in math research at Cambridge University.  Later, at the University of Geneva, Papert studied with Swiss philosopher and psychologist Jean Piaget, who greatly influenced his theories on children and learning.

In 1963, Papert joined MIT as a research associate. He then became a professor of applied mathematics and co-director (with Professor Marvin Minsky) of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. In the 1980s, he and Minsky co-founded the MIT Media Lab. LEGO was the Lab’s largest corporate sponsor; the company worked closely with Papert, who became the first LEGO Professor of Learning Research. The professorship has since been renamed the LEGO Papert Professorship of Learning and Research and the position is held by Papert’s former student and collaborator, Mitchel Resnick.

In the 1960s, Papert was a pioneer in constructionist education when he developed the first computer program language to aid children in their learning. His tenet was that children learn best by “doing” – building, creating and making things happen. Papert also explored how childhood objects influence learning.

According to his obituary on the MIT website, Papert argued against “the computer being used to program the child.” In Mindstorms, Papert spoke of an alternative approach in which “the child programs the computer and, in doing so, both acquires a sense of mastery over a piece of the most modern and powerful technology and establishes an intimate contact with some of the deepest ideas from science, from mathematics, and from the art of intellectual model building.”

Papert’s work on youth, learning and technology-based education continued for several years – he established the Learning Barn, the Seymour Papert Institute, the Learning Lab at Maine’s Youth Center serving troubled children, and created the non-profit One Laptop per Child, which distributed low-cost laptops to impoverished children around the world. More about Papert’s numerous accomplishments and awards can be read about in his obituary.

Papert is survived by his wife, Suzanne Massie, a Russian scholar; his daughter, Artemis; three step-children; and two siblings.