Build a Teachable Machine Image Classifier With Your Kid

Demystify artificial intelligence by training a custom computer vision model in your browser in fifteen minutes.

Most children today interact with artificial intelligence constantly, whether through video recommendation algorithms, voice assistants, or school research tools. However, to many young minds, AI feels like magic (an invisible, all-knowing force that simply works). To prepare the next generation of leaders, we must demystify this technology. The best way to show them how AI works is to let them build and train a model themselves.

Using a free tool created by Google, you and your child can build a fully functioning computer vision model in less than twenty minutes. There are no paid subscriptions, no coding requirements, and no specialized hardware setups needed. All you need is a laptop or desktop computer with a standard webcam and a few household objects.

Getting Started with Teachable Machine

To begin this project, sit down with your child at a computer and navigate to https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/ . This platform allows users to train machine learning models to recognize images, sounds, or poses directly in the web browser. The data stays local to your browser, making it a secure and private environment for learning.

Click on the Get Started button, then select Image Project , and choose the Standard Image Model . You will be presented with a clean interface showing two empty classes (categories) and a training panel. Explain to your child that they are about to act as the teacher, and the computer is the student.

Step 1: Define Your Classes

First, decide what you want your model to recognize. A classic, engaging setup is classifying two different household items or hand gestures. For example, you can train the model to distinguish between a "Mug" and a "Book", or between a "Thumbs Up" and a "Thumbs Down" gesture.

Rename Class 1 to your first object (e.g., "Mug") and Class 2 to your second object (e.g., "Book") by clicking the pencil icon next to the class names.