Last month Omaha joined the list of international CoderDojos, hosting an event attended by nearly two dozen 13- to 17-year-olds in Omaha’s Old Market. Now another Midwestern city—Cedar Rapids—is adopting an open source, volunteer-led program that teaches kids to code, too.
When Dave Welch, one of the organizers of CoderDojo Iowa City, contacted a group of community members about bringing the event north to Cedar Rapids, David Tominsky says he jumped at the chance.
“Exposing kids to things like software development at an early age is a really smart idea,” he said. “Technology can be fun, so having kids learn to utilize each in a way that makes it fun for them but also is very educational.”
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CoderDojos have a flexible model that allow local volunteer leaders like Tominksy to customize the program and create their own curriculum. Tominksy says that at the Cedar Rapids CoderDojo event students will be able to do everything from using Scratch to program a simple game to playing and experimenting with a Sphero.
“If these kids could get exposed and have experiences related to technology, it’ll be so helpful, regardless of what they choose to do later in life,” he said.
The inaugural event is Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. The event is free and open to 5- to 17-year-olds—students under 12 must be accompanied by a parent. Interested students can register online.
Credits: Image from CoderDojoCR.
