2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow’s Kids

Kids in 2030 will still have to eat their vegetables, but genetic engineering will make those greens taste far yummier. School will still be in session, but most kids will be excited to go. What child wouldn’t look forward to teacher-led holograph tours of the pyramids of Egypt; multimedia centers where talking computers help students create dynamic video presentations; and gym classes replete with virtual-reality baseball and “smart” trampolines?

In the 32 richly illustrated pages of their new book, 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow’s Kids, business writer Amy Zuckerman and education writer James Daly give young readers a snapshot of daily life as it might look when they grow up. Dogs “speak” to people via voice simulators, kitchen appliances interact with users, and humanoid search agents converse with you and help you find whatever information you need.

Other, less far-fetched amenities include energy grids powered mainly by wind and solar generators, recycling of nearly all garbage, and suburban “eco-villages” whose buildings are specially insulated to keep out excess heat.

Many of these marvels will be familiar concepts to career futurists, but they will come alive for the first time to young readers—and maybe inspire them to engage in their own futures thinking.