Summer Camps in Arlington this week include micro:bit Robotics, Python 1: Turtle Art, Scratch 3: Code and Build Games, and Web Development. Classes have been enjoying some fun activities in the morning before class starts, such as Scattergories, Wordle, Globle, and Mafia.
This week kicked off with a welcome from Marymount University President, Dr. Irma Becerra! Marymount has been a wonderful partner for Boolean Girl since 2019, and we are grateful for all of their support, from hosting Camps and Clubhouses to sending experts to meet with our students.Click the link below to take you to more information about your camp.
Arlington - Marymount
Mid-Week Update
micro:bit Robotics 
Your children are learning about how to create inventions by programming micro:bit microcomputers with an online software called Microsoft Make:Code. They are digging deep into their creative sides to design, build, and code their own inventions. Children have been enjoying a mixture of coding and building in micro:bit Robotics. They learned how to add motors and sensors to their final projects.
Campers focused their efforts in the beginning of the week on their robotic pets who often were coded to react with different emotions or light up from coded LED lights attached to the creation. Some projects from earlier in the week include α robot pet named that is able to make faces and has an α hat on top that spins through α coded motor and a jellyfish that changes faces and has light bulbs that turn on and off. Audiences are able to feed the Jellyfish and give it “water”.
Campers are now working on creating and coding their own robots. These take the shape of various types such as controllers as well as motion-censored. We can't wait to see everything they dream up!
- To learn more about Microsoft's Make:Code projects, you can access their website here: https://makecode.microbit.org/
Question to ask your budding inventor: What robotic invention are they working on creating?
Python 1: Turtle Art
Your children have been learning about the basics of how to code in Python. They are learning various aspects of coding such as variables, functions, and libraries. The children are creating digital art using a code library called Turtle.
Campers this week have been learning more about the language of Python and more specifically how they can incorporate Turtle art into their designs. So far, we have learned new skills such as how to code spirographs and loops to incorporate into their own project. Some of the art includes dragons, emojis, and unique backgrounds.
- A free development environment you can use to code in Python at home is https://trinket.io
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: What kind of art are you creating?
Scratch 3: Code and Build Games 
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.
Our campers have been enjoying trying out each others' platformer games. Adding timers has allowed them to 'speedrun' games and adding a score variable has allowed them to use the concept of high scores. Campers brainstormed and began the creation of their own platform games for the end-of-week presentations. We are continuing to learn new skills to incorporate into their games such as jumping, collectables, scoreboards and portals.
- Scratch is available for free at https://scratch.mit.edu/
Question to ask your budding computer scientist: What kind of game are you building, and what are your sprites doing?
Web Development 
In our Web Development camps, campers have been creating their own websites about themselves and their interests by writing HTML code and formatting it with an external CSS stylesheet. They are making their own classes and IDs in CSS to change the look of their websites as well as adding images and links.
All of our webpages are a “call to action”. We have both serious and “funny” calls to action. Campers learned about toolbars, homepages, and more, and then how to code theirs to expand their own webpage.
One of our campers created and coded a Shrek webpage “to help receive the recognition Shrek deserves". Another camper took the more serious route and has emphasized the need to adopt puppies with a call-to-action for the viewer to help.
- Children can learn more about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at www.w3schools.com.
Marymount Fall Clubhouse Dates Announced!
On Saturday mornings this Fall, we'll be hosting mini camps at Marymount called Clubhouse. These camps run from 9am-Noon and are a great place to pick up where you left off at summer camp and reunite with your STEM friends! Mark your calendars for October 5, 19, 26, and Nov 9, 16, 23.
You can sign up for Clubhouse here!
Bethesda
Mid-Week Update
Storytelling in Scratch (Level 1)
Earlier this week, our Scratch camps started creating stories, developing plots, characters, and settings. Over the next few days, they will use Scratch to render their own code and make their original stories come to life!
Question to ask your Storytelling in Scratch camper: Who are your main characters (sprites) are and where is your adventure heading?
Getting Started in Python: Turtle Art
Campers who have been through Scratch programs previously are getting started in Python in our Python 1 camp. They are learning the basics of Python such as variables, functions, and libraries. Campers are creating digital art using a code library called Turtle. So far, they have been using the "pen" function to draw their own lines, shapes, and looping drawing animations. A free development environment you can use to code in Python at home is Trinket.
Question to ask your Getting Started in Python (Python 1) camper: What kind of art are they creating?
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