It's another hot week in the DMV, but we're staying cool in STEM camp! In Arlington, we're creating stories in Scratch, Coding and Building Games in Scratch, building robotics using micro:bits, and developing our own website homepages. In Bethesda, we're coding adventures in Scratch and Python.
Click the link below to take you to more information about your camp.
In our Scratch classes, campers participated in a moc-gallery walk with their classmates. Within this moc-gallery walk, the students were able to write “Grows and Glows” for their classmates' projects. This allowed each student to give compliments and additions to other students' projects while also gaining inspiration from the new projects they could play.
Students in Web Development finished their “About Me” Pages today. These pages include facts and other details about each student. The final project will be to code and design their own websites for a cause and issues they are passionate about, advocating for their individual interests.
Our micro:bit campers are focusing on their “pet” projects which also take the shape of cardboard-focused projects.
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: Who are their main characters (sprites) are and where is their adventure heading?
After learning how to create stories in Scratch, our advanced Scratch campers are exploring how to create their own gaming platform like the classics, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and so many more.
The children are making platforming games that include a main character and portals to take the character to other levels. They are learning the concept of variables by implementing collectibles and timers in their games. Some children are even adding enemies to their games and moving platforms to increase the difficulty.
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: What kind of game are you building, and what are your sprites doing?
micro:bit RoboticsQuestion to ask your budding inventor: What robotic invention are they working on creating?
Question to ask your future web developer: What will they be showcasing on their website?
In our Code Your Own Adventure camp, your children are creating their own interactive choose-your-own-adventure stories in Scratch by coding flow charts, user inputs, and conditionals to move their original story along. Along the way the player makes choices in the story that takes our adventurer in different directions.
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: Who are your main characters (sprites), and where is their adventure heading?
In Code Your Own Adventure in Python (Python 2), your children are using what they learned in Python 1 along with new skills such as implementing conditionals, functions, and user input to build their own custom adventure stories. Campers are using their creativity and problem-solving skills throughout the week to come up with their unique adventures.
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: What is the setting of your adventure, and where are your characters heading?