Logo is often described as merely a programming language for children; it is given little consideration beyond its ability to enable children to program computers to draw pictures. This is a superficial viewpoint that masks the real power of Logo and often leads computer 'experts' with a narrow knowledge of computing to dismiss it as a trivial language. In reality, Logo has its origins in LISP, a powerful artificial intelligence language: it borrowed the list-handling commands of LISP and added the set of graphics commands that are the most familiar part of Logo. This resulted in a programming language designed to be more accessible to children, not just a programming language for children.

Logo is also a language that has its roots in an educational philosophy promoted by Seymour Papert and his MIT colleagues. The attraction for young children is the immediate visual feedback provided by working with Logo's graphic commands and the egocentric nature of the Logo 'turtle' which wanders around the screen drawing lines as a result of a child's instructions.

It is our challenge to introduce Logo to children so that access to the more powerful aspects of Logo is facilitated.