Art × AI Education

Where creativity meets the future of AI literacy

Helping parents and children explore artificial intelligence through art, play, and critical thinking — building the human skills no algorithm can replace.

Explore the 5 Big Ideas ↓ About Me
15+
Years in design
7
Years in AI & data
4
Advanced degrees
🎨
Workshop Focus
Creative Problem Solving
🤖
Big Idea 5
AI + Societal Impact
✨
Ages
6 – 12 Years

"I don't know what skills children will need in 10 years — but I know they'll need to be adaptable, creative, and deeply human in how they think about the world AI is building."

— Sonia Sierra, Designer & Educator

About Me

Designing human experiences
for an AI world

I'm a designer with 15 years of experience making complex ideas feel human. For the past 7 years I've focused on AI and data experiences at companies like Capital One — translating cutting-edge technology into products people actually understand and trust.

But my deepest work has always been about people. The children growing up today will inherit a world shaped by AI — and they deserve to grow up understanding it, questioning it, and shaping it themselves.

I combine my design expertise with my background in arts education to create workshops where creativity is the gateway to AI literacy, ethical reasoning, and future-ready thinking.

🔭
Futures Thinking & Strategic Foresight I apply methodologies from strategic foresight to teaching — helping kids explore not just what AI is today, but what it could mean for all of us tomorrow.
🌱
MIT pK-12 Inspired Curriculum My approach draws from MIT's initiative to empower the next generation — pairing every technical concept with a core human skill, so children grow as thinkers and makers.
Sonia Sierra — designer and educator

Education & Credentials

🎓
MBA — Design Strategy
California College of the Arts
🎓
MFA — Interdisciplinary Arts Education
University of Barcelona
🎓
Bachelor of Fine Arts
University of Barcelona
📚
Teaching Certificate — Experimental Arts & Visual Education
Certified Educator
15+
Years in Design
7
Years AI & Data
My Approach

Human skills first.
Technology second.

For every technical AI concept we explore, we anchor it in a core human ability — because the most powerful intelligence will always be deeply, irreducibly human.

🔮

Futures Thinking

Kids learn to imagine multiple possible futures, question assumptions, and understand how today's technology shapes tomorrow's world. Rooted in strategic foresight methodologies.

Strategic Foresight
🎨

Art as a Thinking Tool

Drawing, making, and creating aren't just fun — they're how children externalize complex thinking. Art becomes a medium for exploring how AI perceives, reasons, and learns.

Creative Pedagogy
⚖️

Ethics from the Start

We don't bolt ethics on at the end — it's woven into everything. Children discover ethical design principles by grappling with real questions about fairness, bias, and impact.

Ethical Design

Inspired by leading AI education initiatives:

MIT pK-12 Initiative ↗ AI4K12 ↗
The Framework

The 5 Big Ideas in AI

Drawn from the AI4K12 initiative, these five ideas form the backbone of every workshop — each opening a door to both technical understanding and human wisdom.

01
👁️

Perception

How do computers sense and understand the world? Cameras, microphones, sensors — and why machines often "see" very differently than humans do.

→ Activity: AI Portrait Lab
02
🧠

Representation & Reasoning

How do machines represent knowledge and make decisions? We explore logic, data structures, and the surprising ways computers "think."

→ Activity: Story Maps
03
📈

Learning

Computers can learn from experience — but only from the data we give them. What does it mean to teach a machine? What can go wrong?

→ Activity: Pattern Gardens
04
💬

Natural Interaction

How do we communicate with computers through voice, gesture, and language? And what gets lost in translation between humans and machines?

→ Activity: Robot Theater
05
🌍

Societal Impact

AI is reshaping work, relationships, creativity, and power. Children explore who benefits, who's harmed, and how we design AI that serves everyone.

→ Activity: Future City Workshop
Explorations

Hands-on explorations

Designed for ages 6–12. In-person workshops available.

Coming Soon Big Idea 1: Perception

AI Portrait Lab

Children draw self-portraits and then explore how AI facial recognition works — and fails. We compare how humans recognize faces versus how machines do it, uncovering how design choices lead to bias and whose faces get left out.

Human skill developed: Empathy & Perspective-Taking

Coming Soon Big Idea 2: Reasoning

Story Maps & Logic Trees

Kids create visual decision maps for stories — then discover how AI makes surprisingly similar choices. Part art project, part logic puzzle.

Human skill developed: Systems Thinking

Coming Soon Big Idea 3: Learning

Pattern Gardens

Create a "training dataset" of drawings, then teach a simple sorting game using patterns. Discover what happens when training data is incomplete or biased.

Human skill developed: Critical Inquiry

Coming Soon Big Idea 4: Interaction

Robot Theater

Children act out conversations with imaginary AI characters — exploring how voice assistants work, what they truly understand, and where they hilariously fail.

Human skill developed: Communication & Nuance

Coming Soon Big Idea 5: Societal Impact

Future City Workshop

Teams design a city of the future powered by AI — but first, they must agree on ethical rules together. Who gets to use the technology? What happens when it fails? Who is left out? This collaborative art + design project brings ethics to life through building and negotiation.

Human skill developed: Ethical Reasoning & Civic Imagination

?

Things I hear from parents & caregivers

🌟

"What skills will my child need in 10 years?"— mom of a 5 year old

🤔

"How do I teach AI literacy when I don't fully understand it myself?"— dad of a 9 year old

💡

"I would like kids to shape technology — not just consume it."— 3rd grade teacher

For Parents

You don't need to be a tech expert to raise one.

My workshops are for every child — whether they love technology or have never thought twice about it. Through hands-on art, making, and play, AI becomes something kids can touch, laugh with, and actually understand. No gadgets required to have a great time.

  • 🎯
    No tech background required Workshops use art, play, and storytelling — accessible for any child, regardless of prior experience with technology.
  • 🧩
    Human + technical skills, always paired Every technical concept comes alongside a core human ability — empathy, critical thinking, ethics — so children become thoughtful creators, not passive consumers.
  • 🔒
    Safety and ethics built in from day one Children learn to ask hard questions: Who benefits? Who might be harmed? How could this go wrong? These habits of mind are the best protection in an AI-shaped world.
  • 🌱
    Future-adaptable, not future-anxious The goal isn't to predict the future — it's to raise children who can navigate any future with confidence, creativity, and care.
  • 🌐
    Available in English and Spanish Workshops are offered fully in both languages — so every family can engage in the language that feels most natural to them.
✉️

Let's build something together

Whether you're a parent curious about workshops, a school interested in partnerships, or someone who believes children deserve better AI education — I'd love to connect.

No spam, ever. Just updates on workshops, activities, and ideas.