Labbox was started by sisters Arta and Fiona Shehu, computer-science engineers who taught thousands of students at jCoders Academy — and kept seeing the same thing: a circuit only clicks when it is real. Not simulated, not on a screen. Something has to light up.

The blocks came first: 30+ magnetic electronic components that snap together with polarity marks and protected parts, so a wrong build can't hurt anyone or anything. The kits and games grew out of them, co-developed and manufactured with Hape, one of the world's largest educational-toy makers. Labbox is based in Frankfurt and ships across nine European countries.