Both Badin students and STEM2DREAM event participants are using the Hour of Code program at code.org, which incorporates the popular Disney movie “Frozen” to teach students how to create snowflakes, ice-skating patterns, and create a winter wonderland with code.
Badin delayed classes by an hour Tuesday so that every student could participate in the Hour of Code event, and it was a resounding success, said technology teacher David Gretz.
“I have never seen so many students so involved in an activity,” he said.
While his programming students had participated in the event last year, involving the entire student body and faculty helped highlight the technology that Badin offered all of its students.
“The stated objective of Hour of Code is to demystify coding,” he said. “It does take math and science skill, but it’s not the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. It’s all very logical and problem-solving skills.”
Hamilton native Tyrome Bembry created the STEM2DREAM Foundation in February to bring STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — education to Butler County, and has partnered with Hamilton City schools and the Lane Library in hosting several after-school and summer STEM programs this year.
The weekend’s events, held on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Community Tech Center, 10 Journal Square, are an opportunity for children ages 8 and older and their parents to learn the basics of code.
“At my event, participants are going to learn that there is a language called binary code,” Bembry said. “They’re going to walk away and know that computer programming is communicating to a computer, it’s learning an actual language.”
The Hour of Code program is free for any interested child or adult to use online at code.org, but the STEM2DREAM event provides access to the tech center’s state of the art equipment, including 21 computers, two 3-D printers, and a staff of “tinkerers, early adopters, (who) live and breathe technology,” said Christian Sheehy, the tech center’s manager.
“A solid education wholeheartedly relies on parental involvement, which is why we are excited to have both parents and their children learn basic programming together this weekend,” Sheehy said. “Not only is it fun, but it empowers children to control the machines that they use every day, whether they program a game or the backbone of the next successful business in Hamilton.”
Spaces are still available for the two free, catered events, and registration can be found at lanepl.org. Employees in the field of computer programming who are interested in speaking at Friday or Saturday's events are encouraged to email Bembry at tyrome.bembry@stem2dream.org.
The tech center provides several computer programming courses year round, and plans to host a large event for Tech Teen Week, March 8 through 14, with an after-hours workshop for teens that includes robotics, 3-D printing, and programming, Sheehy added.
“We care about our community and bringing a new generation of successful business to Hamilton, which is why we teach coding and many other tech related skills to students,” he said.
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