The aim of this doctoral thesis is to contribute knowledge to the field of early childhood mechanical technology education. This is pursued through a systematic review and synthesis of existing research, alongside empirical explorations of video documented hands-on mechanical technology activities in preschool. The thesis is theoretically informed by sociocultural perspectives on interaction and development (Vygotsky, 2016; Wertsch, 1998) and by DiGironimo’s (2011) framework for understanding the nature of technology.