Tynker Launches Summer Code Jam for Kids Ages 6-13 with $10,000 in Prizes

Tynker, the world’s leading K-12 creative coding platform, today announced the launch of the 2020 Tynker Summer Code Jam. This widely popular coding competition lets kids ages 6 to 13 put their coding skills to the test as they complete challenges for a chance to win $10,000 in cash and prizes. Registration for the Summer Code Jam is free and open to anyone who would like to participate.

Beginning June 15, 2020 for eight weeks, the Tynker Summer Code Jam will introduce a new themed challenge each week using Tynker block programming. Examples include: Designing an Avatar, Creating a Musical Composition, and Making a Minecraft Mod. These challenges will build upon students’ creativity and analytical skills while reinforcing academic skills in math, geometry, and reading. Last summer, Tynker had over 400,000 participants in its summer Minecraft Code-a-Thon, and this year’s Summer Code Jam is looking to be even bigger.

“Summer is a time when students traditionally lose some of their learning from the prior year, but, with a shortened school year, the need to help them maintain their skills is more important than ever,” said Krishna Vedati, co-founder and CEO of Tynker. “With summer camps and school programs being canceled, we wanted to kick off an even bigger coding competition to keep students motivated to learn all summer long. The chance to win prizes is exciting, but kids mostly look forward to these coding competitions so they can explore their creativity and make something really cool.”

Anyone with a Tynker account can participate in the Summer Code Jam using the Tynker iPAD app or an internet-connected computer, with most participants falling in the 6-13 year old age range. This year, Grand Prize winners will be awarded $2,000 USD for First Place, $1,000 USD for Second Place, and $500 USD for Runner Up. Grand Prize winners must complete all eight weekly challenges. In addition to the top 3 Grand Prize winners, Tynker will award the top weekly challenge winner with a $100 USD gift card.

Each week during the competition, an additional 10 project winners will receive valuable prizes and/or Minecraft gear selected as follows: 4 winning projects will be awarded for receiving the most “likes” from the Tynker community, and a Tynker panel of judges will choose 6 additional winners. Any available challenge may be completed and submitted for voting until August 9, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. PDT. All participants will receive Tynker Summer Code Jam participation certificates.

Parents of participants will receive an email when new projects are added at the beginning of each week, and kids will be notified via the Tynker website. Kids with an existing Tynker account can sign up for the Summer Code Jam; all others can sign up for free at www.tynker.com. To learn more, please go to www.tynker.com/play/code-jam.

Tynker is the world’s leading K-12 creative coding platform, enabling students of all ages to develop the coding skills to design and power animations, games, music, robots and drones, smart devices, virtual worlds like Minecraft, and more. The company’s award-winning platform helps kids engage at home, school, and on the go, while developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and programming skills to help them be successful today and tomorrow. Tynker’s highly successful coding curriculum has been used by one in three U.S. K-8 schools, 90,000 schools globally, and over 60 million kids across 150 countries. Tynker’s partners include some of the world’s most respected brands, including Apple, BBC Learning, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, PBS, Lego, NASA, and more. Tynker is accessible from any computer with an internet browser, as well as via the Tynker and Tynker Junior mobile apps, and offers both free and paid subscription options. For more information, visit http://www.tynker.com.