About the lab
A research group dedicated to how young children learn, play, and grow.
The Little Scientist Lab sits at the intersection of developmental psychology and human-centred computing. We design experiments that respect children's agency and ask questions that matter right now and into the future.
We collaborate with educators, autistic communities, and parents to keep the work useful and respectful. Everything we do is grounded in open science practices and co-design.
Currently funded by the Jacobs Foundation, we're running longitudinal studies on child-robot learning and developing better tools for measuring how autistic children engage with learning.
What we study
Two threads. One question.
How do young children decide who — and what — to learn from? We pursue this across children's learning with social robots and co-design research with autistic adults.
Current studies
What we're running now.
Families on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane can take part. Studies are designed to be enjoyable for children and low-effort for caregivers.
Families welcome
Your child could help us understand learning.
Our studies are fun for kids, and your family gets a personalised certificate and a small gift. We come to you, or you visit our friendly lab space.
Who we are
Principal Investigator
Dr Kristyn Sommer
Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow · Griffith University, School of Applied Psychology
I run the Little Scientist Lab (currently at Griffith University), where my team studies how preschoolers learn from people, robots, and the social cues sitting between the two.
I'm an autistic researcher. That shapes everything about how I design studies, who I collaborate with, and what questions I think are worth asking. My methodologies have gotten more rigorous over the years. My curiosity hasn't changed.