What Is Linux and Where Does It Hide?
You may never have seen it. But you probably carry it in your pocket. Today you will find out what Linux is and where it hides.
For parents: a one-page guide — dinner questions and a game without a screen.
01Remember
We start with three things you already know. Think first, then open the answer.
What keeps your photos when you switch the tablet off — working memory or storage?
Storage. Working memory is like the desk you work on — it forgets when the power is off.
Why is it good to update programs?
An update fixes mistakes and closes holes where something bad could get in.
Who installs new programs on the computer at home?
An adult — from an official source. We will do the same today: we only look and draw.
02Story
On 25 August 1991, a 21-year-old called Linus Torvalds wrote a message in an online discussion group. In his words: “I'm doing a (free) operating system — just a hobby, won't be big and professional.”
On 17 September 1991, the first version was published — number 0.01. Torvalds wanted to call it “Freax”, but the man who looked after the file server put it there under the name “Linux”. Torvalds agreed later. That is how he tells it himself in his book.
In 1992 he decided the kernel should be free, under a licence called the GPL. That means anyone may use it, read it, change it and pass it on. People from all over the world began to help.
The hobby did not stay small. At the end of September 2026, the newest stable version of the kernel is number 7.2.8.
Notice: Torvalds wrote only the kernel. What is a kernel? You will see right now.
03Worked example
Think of a car. The kernel is like the engine. The same engine can sit in many different cars.
Kernel
This is the most basic program of the computer. It looks after the basic work and starts all the other programs. Linux is such a kernel.
Basic tools
On top of the kernel there are small tools for working with files and programs. A large part of them come from the GNU project.
Programs
These are the things you use: for writing, drawing, music, games.
Distribution
People put the kernel, the tools and the programs together into one ready package that works as a whole. Such a package is called a distribution. Debian and Ubuntu are distributions. They are like the whole car, not only the engine.
That is why “Linux” sometimes means only the kernel, and sometimes a whole system built around it.
04Try it now
1 · Predict
Is there Linux inside a phone with Android? Choose before you check.
2 · Run: where does Linux hide?
This is a drawing of seven things. Click each one and see whether there is Linux in it.
3 · Change: make a pretend distribution
Choose which programs it has and how the screen looks. Watch which row does not change.
05No screen: a recipe you can share
Free software is like a recipe. You need: a sheet of paper, a pen and one more person.
Write a simple recipe — for example for a sandwich or lemonade. This is your “program”.
Use: make it together. Study: read it and explain why each step is there.
Change and improve: the other person copies the recipe, changes something and writes their name on it. Now there is a new version.
Share: you both give the recipe to a third person. There is one rule: whoever hands it on, hands it on with the same rights.
These four things — use, study, improve and share — are the freedoms of free software. “Free” means freedom, not always “free of charge”.
06Make your own
Draw a “Linux map” of your home.
- Draw boxes for the devices you have at home: a phone, a TV, a router, a clock, a scale…
- Put a mark on each one: ✓ surely has Linux, ? maybe, ✗ probably not.
- Ask an adult to check with you in the manual or on the maker's website. Do not open the devices!
07What I learned
- Linux is a kernel — the most basic program of a system.
- A distribution is the kernel plus tools and programs put together.
- Linux hides in many places, but not in every device.
- Free software you may use, study, change and share.
The same kernel works in so many different devices. And you — what do you do the same way at home and at school?
Check yourself
1. Linux is…
2. A distribution such as Debian or Ubuntu is…
3. Free software means you can…
It is yours when you can explain to someone what a kernel is and where Linux hides. No points and no rankings — just a skill.
08I have a question
Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.
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·Sources
- Title: What Is Linux and Where Does It Hide? (DB-RK-15) · Author: Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original content, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
- What Linux is, the GPL v2 licence, which processors it runs on: the kernel documentation, kernel.org (checked 02.10.2026). Newest stable version 7.2.8 of 25.09.2026: kernel.org.
- The history (the message of 25.08.1991, version 0.01 on 17.09.1991, the name, the licence in 1992): “History of Linux”, Wikipedia (checked 02.10.2026; the story of the name follows Torvalds's own book).
- Android: “Kernel overview”, Android Open Source Project. Routers: “OpenWrt”, Wikipedia. Televisions: “webOS”, Wikipedia.
- Kernel, tools, distribution (the “tower”): “About Debian”; Ubuntu: “About Ubuntu” (checked 02.10.2026).
- Supercomputers: TOP500; the note that all systems are Linux-family comes from the TOP500 article on Wikipedia (checked 02.10.2026, list of June 2026).
- The four freedoms: “Free software”, Wikipedia; the definition is by the Free Software Foundation (gnu.org).
- The names Android, OpenWrt, webOS, LG, Debian, Ubuntu and Windows belong to their owners and are used only to say what they are. The drawings are ours.
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.