From Small Grant Winner to Growing Storyworld: Meet Niilo Napakettu (Nilo the Snowfox)
02/04/26
Earlier this year, we announced the winners of the EU Code Week Small Grants Nordic competition, celebrating three inspiring grassroots projects helping young people build digital skills through creativity, collaboration and coding.
One of the standout winners was Niilo Napakettu (Nilo the Snowfox), led by leading teacher Jaana Hekkanen and the Napakettu Team at Hiukkavaara Comprehensive School in Oulu, Finland. Now, we are taking a closer look at this imaginative project and how it continues to grow.
Developed under the Innokas Network as part of the Code Week project since 2023, the Nilo the Snowfox series combines storytelling and coding in a way that makes digital learning meaningful, playful and accessible for young children.
1st Place: Niilo Napakettu (Nilo the Snowfox)
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Led by teacher Jaana Hekkanen and the Napakettu Team at Hiukkavaara Comprehensive School in Oulu, Finland, this award-winning project brings coding to life through storytelling.
By introducing children to Nilo the Snowfox, a much-loved character, the project blends narrative and coding to spark curiosity and creativity among pre-primary and primary learners. Children engage in problem-solving and logical thinking while immersing themselves in imaginative stories, making coding both accessible and enjoyable from an early age.
This approach demonstrates how story-based learning can transform coding education into something meaningful, memorable and fun.
A growing book series with meaningful themes
The Nilo the Snowfox series has grown steadily since its launch, with a new book published each year. So far, three titles have been released: Nilo the Snowfox Moves to the Magical Forest, Nilo the Snowfox and the Trash Prince, and Nilo the Snowfox and the Treasure of the Banana Island.
Each story takes children on a new adventure while exploring themes that matter in everyday life. The first book highlights friendship, the second focuses on sustainable development, and the third encourages trust in the future. Through these stories, children are invited not only to read and imagine, but also to think, solve problems and learn together.
Stories come to life through coding tasks
A unique feature of the Nilo books is their interactivity. At certain points, the story pauses and children are invited to complete coding tasks that help move the story forward.
The activities are varied and engaging. They include drawing, writing, arranging items in the correct order, solving puzzles, decoding secret messages, building patterns, and interpreting images and clues. In some tasks, children also “code” each other or follow instructions to reach a solution.
Designed for preschool and early primary learners, the tasks support the development of both computational thinking and collaboration skills. Some activities also include multiple difficulty levels, giving teachers flexibility to choose the option that best suits their group.
A dedicated website for Nilo
As part of the project’s development, Nilo the Snowfox now has its own dedicated website at niilonapakettu.weebly.com. Nilo also continues to feature on the Innokas Network website, where materials are available to explore and download.
The website was created by project coordinator Jaana Hekkanen and includes all three existing books in both Finnish and English. The English translations were produced through the ongoing project funding, helping make the Nilo series and its educational resources accessible to a wider audience across Europe.
Next step: audiobooks
The project continues to evolve, with the next phase focused on the production of audiobooks. Jaana’s colleague, Katja Paananen, will begin by recording the first three books in both Finnish and English.
These recordings will be turned into six complete audiobooks, three in Finnish and three in English, and published on Nilo’s website. The audiobooks are being designed specifically for educational use, with clear pause points where teachers can stop the story and guide children through the coding tasks. This means the interactive nature of the project will remain at the heart of the experience, even in audio format.
A new book is already in progress
And the story does not stop there. After the audiobooks are completed, work will continue on a fourth Nilo the Snowfox book. It has already been revealed that the next instalment will explore the theme of courage, an important part of every child’s growth and everyday life.
With its combination of storytelling, creativity and coding, Niilo Napakettu shows how digital education can begin in ways that feel joyful, imaginative and deeply relevant to children’s lives.
Discover more
Niilo Napakettu was one of the winning projects in the EU Code Week Small Grants Nordic winners announcement, which highlighted inspiring grassroots initiatives helping young people across the region build digital skills.
We look forward to following the next chapter of Nilo’s journey and seeing how this creative project continues to inspire children, teachers and families through coding and storytelling.
