Robotics
Build and program wheeled robots, robot arms and simple machines — from first motor to first line of code.
Unnaryd · Småland · In the making
Every kid deserves to build a robot.
SpiceBits is a completely free tech playground for children and young people aged 0–25. Kids are our future — and robotics will be a huge part of it. Better to learn it early, in symbiosis with nature: build robots, solder electronics, write code — and borrow the kit to keep going at home.
- 0 kr
- to walk in the door, always
- 0–25
- the ages we welcome
- 100%
- free lending, Fritidsbanken-style
Through the glass: real robots at work
Learn to build the future
At the benches of the workshop — robots, code and electronics, free for every child.
Free your time
Through the glass, robots take the repetitive work — showing what technology is for.
Trust in nature
Built in Unnaryd, between forest and lake — where making things belongs.
Kids are our future — and robotics will be a huge part of it
The machines that will run our workshops, farms and factories are already learning. Our children should not just watch that happen — they should understand it, shape it, and do it in step with the nature around them. That is why SpiceBits exists.
01
Kids are our future
Every child who picks up a soldering iron today becomes an adult who can build — not just consume — tomorrow. Give them the tools now and they will carry the whole community forward.
02
Robotics will be huge
Sensors, robots and AI are moving into farming, forestry, healthcare and industry alike. Reading, writing and robotics: understanding the machines is becoming the third basic skill.
03
Learn it fast, in symbiosis with nature
Start young, learn quick — and build with nature, not against it. Our workshop sits between forest and lake on purpose, because technology should serve the landscape it lives in.
The Workshop01 02 03 04
A maker space where nothing costs anything
Open to every child and young person aged 0–25, regardless of background. Drop in, get a bench, and build something you are proud of — with volunteers and mentors alongside you.
Electronics & soldering
Safe, supervised soldering stations. Wire sensors, lights and motors — and understand what you just built.
Arduino & Raspberry Pi
Program real microcontrollers and mini computers. Physics and robotics made playful and learnable.
3D print & small CNC
Turn ideas into parts. Print prototypes, mill small pieces, and take your project home with you.
Through the glass
The theory ends at the glass wall — and industry begins
Next door, a robotics-driven facility produces real goods every day. Our members see the exact same robots, sensors and actuators they learn on — running an actual factory, through the glass.
Classroom theory rarely shows you where it leads. Here, a twelve-year-old wiring a sensor can look up and watch the industrial version of that exact principle at work. It is the bridge between learning and a livelihood, in the middle of Småland.
- 1
Learn it here
Sensors, motors, code and physics — on equipment you are allowed to touch, break and rebuild.
- 2
See it live next door
A real robotics-driven production facility, one glass wall away, running every working day.
- 3
Take it home
Borrow the kit and keep building — because one afternoon a week is not enough to become an engineer.
Borrow the shelf
Fritidsbanken-style · always freeTake the equipment home — free, like a library for technology
micro:bit
The perfect first computer. Program it, attach sensors, take a full kit home for a week.
Arduino kit
Board, breadboard, sensors, motors and a guide. Two weeks to build something that moves.
Raspberry Pi
A whole Linux computer for coding projects — from game console to weather station.
3D printer time
Book bench time to print your own parts, or get your design printed while you wait.
Every borrowed kit returns to the shelf for the next child. Care for the equipment is part of the deal — that is how a small village keeps a big workshop open.
Big enough for a whole class — a day, a week, or a weekend
SpiceBits is built at a size that lets a school bring an entire class. Book an excursion day, run a full theme week, or stay for a weekend camp — with benches, equipment and mentors set aside for your group.
Excursion day
A full day at the benches: build, solder and program with your class — tied to what you already teach.
Theme week
A whole week of robotics, electronics and 3D printing — one project from first sketch to working prototype.
Weekend camp
Stay the weekend between forest and lake — an intensive camp for robotics teams and tech clubs.
School visits are planned together with teachers and cost nothing, like everything else at SpiceBits.
The five-year plan
42 000 000 SEK over five years — and sponsors carry the main part
Building the playground, filling its shelves, wiring its technology and paying the people who run it costs about 42 million SEK over the first five years. The main part is meant to come from sponsors — companies that put their name on a bench, a robot, or the building itself. Grants and a share of the neighbouring facility's profit cover the rest.
The building
Renovation and build-out of the workshop in Unnaryd — benches, ventilation, the glass wall.
Inventory & equipment
Soldering stations, tools, 3D printers, small CNC machines and everything on the lending shelf.
Technology
Robots, microcontrollers, sensors, computers and the software that ties it together.
Employees
The people who keep the doors open, mentor the kids and maintain the machines.
The detailed budget is indicative and published openly — every sponsor and funder can see where each krone goes.
Become a sponsorA self-sustaining model that meets Swedish funding where it lives
The playground is free for every child because it does not depend on one pocket. The neighbouring robotics facility is a commercial operation that shares its technology, its mentors and its belief that Småland should build things — and a portion of what it earns supports the space. Grants do the rest, and every krone is spent where funders can see it.
Allmänna Arvsfonden
What they fund: Free activities for children and youth (0–25) and innovation.
Our fit: The playground side is run by a local non-profit (ideell förening) built for exactly this support.
Vinnova
What they fund: Industrial AI, the green transition and disruptive tech startups.
Our fit: A robotics-based learning environment tied to a working regional production facility.
Hylte kommun
What they fund: Free youth recreation and STEM integration in schools.
Our fit: A fritidsgård alternative — a public library for technology (teknikotek) for the whole municipality.
Non-profit run
The playground side is operated by a local ideell förening.
Commercially anchored
A working robotics facility shares its roof, tools and profit.
Rural by design
Built in Unnaryd, where the nearest maker space is far too far away.
The place
We are building it — right here in Unnaryd
A workshop between forest and lake in Hylte municipality: soldering benches, robot tables, printers and a glass wall to the production floor. The building is being prepared now, and the shelves are meant to be full of borrowed curiosity on opening day.
Want to help with the build-out — hands, materials or money? The door is open.
Walk in, write to us, or help us build it
Parents and young people who want a bench, sponsors and funders who want to be part of it, or neighbours with a spare power drill — we want to hear from you.
The place
SpiceBits
Unnaryd, Hylte kommun
Småland, Sweden
Opening details are announced locally — follow the build-out.