For the third year in a row, the Bruce Museum is bringing Hour of Code to the area throughout the month of December. Hour of Code is a global program introducing computer science and computer programming to students and promoting the message that “anyone can learn” when it comes to coding. Last year, the Bruce Museum reached 550 students in six schools.
“This year, we’re proud to announce that we’ve doubled our Hour of Code participation through the addition of a program geared towards younger learners,” said Kate Dzikiewicz, the Bruce Museum’s Paul Griswold Howes Fellow, who is spearheading the program. To date, the Bruce Museum is scheduled to bring Hour of Code to more than 1,100 students at Glenville School, Julian Curtiss School, Eastern Middle School, North Street School, Cos Cob School, Parkway Elementary School, and the Cos Cob Library, in the Greenwich area, and Park Avenue School and John F. Kennedy Magnet School in Port Chester, N.Y.
Dzikiewicz has given the one-hour lesson a unique Museum flair. Instead of coding using generic characters, students in grades 4-8 are learning to code with Kari the Kairuku, a member of an ancient species of penguin found by the Bruce Museum’s Curator of Science Dr. Daniel Ksepka. Students are introduced to coding via a short educational animation about the extinct penguins and then go on to make their own animated story about the bird. Through the art of coding, Kari the Kairuku has gone from the ancient beaches of New Zealand to the soccer field and beyond.
“It was fun and exciting and I want to do it again!” said a student at Julian Curtiss School.
“For many children, Hour of Code is their first introduction into the world of coding and computer science,” says Ms. Dzikiewicz. “We’re hoping that if children have an engaging first experience that they might maintain that interest for years to come.”
Advanced computer science courses are currently among the least diverse in all of academia: Hour of Code seeks to expand opportunities in computer science by increasing participation by women, underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students.
