TL;DR: Day of AI is a completely free AI literacy curriculum for K-12 classrooms, born at MIT’s RAISE initiative and now run as a standalone nonprofit. There is nothing to buy and no certificate at the end — teachers get classroom-ready lessons, guides, and videos, and students get hands-on activities that need no coding and no technology experience. Verdict: one of the best free ways to teach kids what AI is and how to question it — as long as you understand it is a teacher-led curriculum, not a self-paced online course.
Bottom line: If you teach, parent, or run an after-school group for ages roughly 5–18, this is free, research-backed material from MIT — download it before paying for any kids’ AI course.
What is Day of AI?
Day of AI began in 2021 at MIT RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) and became a standalone nonprofit in 2024, still working closely with MIT researchers. Its stated job is AI literacy: helping students understand how AI systems work, where AI shows up in real life, and what its ethical and societal effects are.
The format is deliberately low-barrier. MIT OpenCourseWare describes the resource as curriculum packages and teacher training, “all of which is available at no cost to participants,” featuring up to four hours of hands-on activities in the core package, designed to be accessible “even those with no computer science or technical background.” Lessons are organized by grade level, from elementary through high school, and the program’s own materials stress that no technology or coding experience is needed. Day of AI says its curriculum has reached more than two million students worldwide.
It is closest in spirit to Experience AI, the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind program we reviewed for ages 8–16: both are free, classroom-first, and focused on understanding AI rather than building with it. Day of AI spans a wider age range and adds teacher professional development on top.
How much does Day of AI cost?
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full K-12 curriculum | $0 | Lessons, educator guides, resources, and videos; free on registration at dayofai.org |
| Teacher professional development | $0 | Free virtual workshops for K-12 educators, including “Demystifying AI” and “Bringing AI Literacy to Your Classroom” |
| Certificate | None offered | This is classroom curriculum, not a credential — there is no certificate to earn or buy |
There are no paid tiers, seat licenses, or upsells listed. If a site ever asks you to pay for “Day of AI certification,” that is not this program.
What most coverage doesn’t make obvious
The free teacher training is unusually intensive — and it is the real product alongside the lessons. Day of AI’s own announcement for its “Responsible AI for America’s Youth” campaign says it planned hundreds of free professional development workshops during the 2025–26 school year, offered up to 20 times per week, alongside the free curriculum. In other words, the support for the adult in the room is not a PDF and a prayer; it is a recurring live workshop schedule, still priced at $0.
What’s good
- Genuinely free, end to end. Curriculum, guides, videos, and teacher workshops all cost $0, with no premium tier waiting behind them.
- No coding, no devices required to start. Activities are hands-on and discussion-based, built for classrooms with mixed technology access.
- Ethics is core, not a bonus lesson. Bias, societal impact, and questioning AI outputs run through the grade bands — the same literacy gap we pointed to in our Khan Academy review.
- Ready to teach. Complete educator guides and videos mean a non-specialist teacher can run a lesson without building materials from scratch.
What’s not so good
- It is not a self-paced course for adults. There is no learner dashboard, progress tracking, or completion credential for an individual student or job-seeker.
- It teaches about AI, not how to build with it. Students who want to make things should graduate to a build-oriented option like Code.org’s AI Foundations.
- An educator has to drive it. The materials assume a teacher, parent, or group leader runs the activities; a lone teenager looking for a course will find it an awkward fit.
Who is Day of AI best for?
K-12 teachers, homeschool parents, librarians, and after-school leaders who need trustworthy, free AI literacy lessons for students roughly ages 5–18 — especially in classrooms with little technology. It is not for adults chasing a certificate or professionals learning AI for work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Day of AI really free?
Yes. Day of AI describes its curriculum and its educator professional development workshops as free, and MIT OpenCourseWare likewise describes its Day of AI resource as available at no cost to participants.
Do students need coding experience for Day of AI?
No. The program states no technology or coding experience is needed, and its lessons are built around hands-on activities, discussion, and play rather than programming.
Does Day of AI offer a certificate?
No. Day of AI is a classroom curriculum from a nonprofit, not a credentialing program. There is no certificate for students or teachers to earn or purchase.
Who created Day of AI?
It was developed at MIT’s RAISE initiative by MIT faculty and educators, launched in 2021, and became a standalone nonprofit in 2024 while continuing to work with MIT researchers.
Verdict
Day of AI is an easy recommendation: MIT-built, completely free, and honest about what it is — literacy curriculum with serious teacher support, not a course marketplace in disguise. Schools and families should use it as the starting point for kids’ AI education and spend money later, only if a student wants to move from understanding AI to building with it.
Research-based review: we have not taught this curriculum, and this post contains no affiliate links.
Prices checked 2026-11-08 and can change — confirm on the platform’s site before buying.