In barbielang, anything is possible ✨
A barbie-themed block-based programming language built in 24 hours for InnovateHer 2026. Won 2nd place in 33 submissions. Try it here. See the (much longer) original DevPost submission.
Built in a four-person team with Shreya, Suhani and Pooja.
Watch the environment in action.
Frontend derived from Blockly, the same library that powers Scratch, MIT App Inventor, Microsoft MakeCode among others. The frontend assembles code as a string, which is then fed to an OCaml interpreter for the language transpiled to JS with js_of_ocaml.
Merge sort implemented in barbielang.
TLDR: no rules that say coding can't be pink.
Learning to code is often highlighted as a world of math, syntax, and rigid logic, which can often feel overwhelming for young kids. Paired with a boring or complicated interface, the barrier to entry becomes even higher, discouraging many kids before they’ve had a real chance to explore what coding can be.This challenge feels even heavier for young girls. Many of them decide early on, often without realizing it, that coding isn’t for them as they don’t see themselves reflected in who codes, what coding looks like, or where they belong in those spaces. Over time, that absence sends a message, “this world wasn’t made for you”.
This is why we created barbielang. Going off of Barbie’s cultural idea, “Anything is possible”, we wanted to create a world for young kids where they can build anything using code. barbielang allows kids to learn coding with intuitive code blocks, and a creative environment (it’s pink!). By embracing this aesthetic, we push back against the idea that technical spaces must look a certain way to be taken seriously. Using pink was an intentional reminder that creativity and personal identity don’t disappear when you start writing code.
barbielang doesn’t make coding easier by removing concepts or simplifying logic. Instead, it makes coding more relatable. The same foundational ideas like conditions, loops, variables, and functions are all still there, but presented in a way that feels more human and approachable. As an entry point, BarbieLang helps learners build confidence first, so they’re better prepared to transition into traditional programming languages later.