Five months after visiting Chattanooga and meeting what she says were some of the most creative people since her days in Silicon Valley, entrepreneur and tech advocate Randi Zuckerberg returned to Chattanooga Thursday to debut her latest venture to inspire children in science and technology.
Zuckerberg, who has written children’s books and created TV characters to interest more girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, is testing an interactive food and play creation known as Sue’s Tech Kitchen. Over the next three days on the second floor of the downtown Tomorrow Building, Chattanooga families will get a chance to test some of the ideas for the tech-fueled cafe and sweet shop experience.
The concept is a kind of high-tech Chuck E. Cheese and interactive family dining experience to expose more children, especially girls in their formative years, to develop a taste and excitement for science and tech gadgets and exploration.
“I’m always encouraging parents to embrace technology into their family’s lives in an interactive and healthy way instead of being afraid of it,” said Zuckerberg, a New York Times bestselling author and former director of market development at Facebook. “So when I was at a restaurant with my two boys, I thought ‘how cool would it be if a drone could deliver our food? Or if we could code with candy?’ As a result, Sue’s Tech Kitchen is coming to life, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing it first to Chattanooga.”
Zuckerberg decided to test out the concept in Chattanooga after visiting the city in February at the invitation of the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute.