Coding for Kids
Table of Contents
Announcing the Wild Minecraft Code-a-Thon!
The biggest event of the summer is here! Tynker and Minecraft have joined forces to bring your child an exciting, adventure-packed 8 weeks of summer with our 4th annual Code-a-Thon! Your child will learn about the amazing species on our planet while sharpening their creativity and critical thinking skills as they code. This year’s theme is Biodiversity, and all of our coding challenges focus on habitats around the globe, from the Great Plains of North America to the forests of Africa! No need to transport your kids to any location for summer fun — they can compete using a computer or tablet from the comfort of your home!
Kids who participate will have fun learning about biodiversity as they complete 8 weeks of coding challenges. This year, we are giving away over $5,000 in prizes, including $50 gift cards for the 10 weekly winners they can redeem at the Minecraft shop! The Code-a-Thon starts June 24th, and it’s totally free to sign up! Read on to learn more about this exciting opportunity for your child to level up their coding and Minecraft skills this summer!
This Year’s Theme: Biodiversity
‘Biodiversity’ refers to all the different kinds of life that exist on Earth, from large land animals like the African Bush elephant, to small plankton that live in the ocean, and so many more! There are many amazing species on our planet that live all around the world, in habitats like Grasslands, Deserts, and the Polar Regions.
To help make sure that these species will be around for a long time, we’ll need everyone’s help to create systems and technology to protect them. Through these eight weeks of coding challenges, kids will learn about various species and their habitat. They’ll not only develop an awareness for the magnificent creatures that live in our biologically diverse world, but also learn coding skills.
Week 1: Grasslands
In the first week of coding challenges, we’re focusing on grasslands around the world! According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), ‘grasslands’ is a term that refers to areas of land where there is too little rain for many trees to grow; instead, this land is populated with grasses that can support grazing animals and their predators. Examples of animals at risk in the grasslands around the world include the black rhino, savanna elephant, Malayan tiger, black-footed ferret, and many more. Learn more about grasslands habitats around the world!
During week 1, kids will use their creative skills to design their favorite animal like the savanna elephant, jaguar, swift fox, or any other grasslands animal as a Minecraft mob! They can also create a grasslands habitat in Minecraft and use random numbers to fill it with tall grass. Finally, kids will code a Tynker storytelling project that explains the story of their animal, why they like it, its habitat, and what role it plays in biodiversity. Or, they can make a project about the grasslands habitat and what it’s like in different parts of the world. To make this week’s coding adventure extra exciting, kids can show their project to family and friends while enjoying vacation time together!
Code-a-Thon Details
- Fun coding projects every week – Kids will learn about biodiversity, get creative, and practice critical thinking skills as they complete new challenges every week.
- Publish and share projects with the Tynker community – As they complete coding challenges, kids can share their projects with the community and see what other users have done!
- Prizes every week – The top 10 projects per week will win a $50 Minecraft gift card! Other prizes will also be awarded.
- Open to all! – The Code-a-Thon is open to any child with a free Tynker account, but requires a connected parent account in order for a child to be eligible to receive additional participation certificates and prizes. No purchase necessary.
How to Participate in the Code-A-Thon
Starting on June 24, 2019, anyone can participate in the Code-A-Thon, right from home! Here’s how to get started:
- Create a free student account for your child and verify the account with your parent email address.
- Log in to the student account.
- Start coding! Kids will find each week’s challenge on their Tynker dashboard. All they need to do is get creative and publish their project!
