Jesse Builds Water Systems…and Tynker Projects!

When ten-year-old Jesse isn’t busy building water reticulation systems in his front yard in Perth, tinkering around with electricity and computer parts, biking and camping with his dad, or playing drums in his school’s band – he’s coding!

Jesse is only in 5th grade but already has an idea of what he’d like to be when he grows up. In his words, “I would like to be an inventor and a scientist.” If his success with Tynker is any indication, he’s well on his way to a great career! We’ve been consistently impressed with Jesse’s Tynker creations, so we chatted with him to learn more about the person behind the projects.

What’s your favorite subject in school? Probably science, but also tech because we get to build stuff!

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I felt really, really shocked that a really simple project had that many likes and views on it!

How did you get introduced to Tynker? I’ve always liked coding but Tynker came from school.

How long have you been coding? I’ve been coding for about a year and a half.

How did you learn how to use Tynker when you were first starting out? I just used to mess around with the codes and see what it would do, and make very basic projects!

Did you use any Tynker courses or tutorials to learn to code?  I just usually create things and see how it goes.

How do you get inspiration for your projects? Usually, there is a thing that I want to make into a Tynker project. If I really want to make something, I just try and make it and see how it goes!

How do you use your creativity when you code? I like to draw things and I like to code it too, to make it lots of animations, making it move and stuff.

Why do you like to code?  I like to code because you can make your own games, and you can make lots of animations!

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? Probably the featured one because it’s got so many views. I just like how many views it has and how easy it was to make!

“Original CRAZYDRAWING”  Check out more of Jesse’s projects here!

Is there anything you’re planning to make next or currently working on? No, I usually just wait until something pops into my head.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? If it’s really good I publish it, or I show my friends.

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? Probably on the website how you can change it to different types of code like JavaScript, and see what that looks like.

Do you ever Tynker with your friends? Yes!

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? Yes, I do and some of them are really good.

How do you think learning coding now may help you in the future? Learning to code now might help me in the future because it would be easier if I wanted to make a website or a game if I wanted to publish it on something.

Do you think other kids should try coding?  Other kids should try coding because coding is really fun – Tynker makes it fun! Also, coding is pretty much science, and it’s fun science. You can make lots of interesting things with coding and Tynker.

What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? Just experiment and work your way up until you make something good. If it’s really good, publish it! You’ll probably get lots of views.

Jesse’s mom Kathy is very glad that he’s learning to code! She told us, “I think it’s really important because Jesse and his age group, they’re going to be our future leaders, in whatever field they go into.” Moreover, “It’s an expression of creativity for Jesse.”

She reflected on the way coding has become more and more accessible to children, saying, “My understanding is that it was a skill that only computer people and scientists were into, but now they’re teaching children.” Kathy believes that “coding is making a difference in the way we work, in our homes, and in our kids’ learning.”

We agree – because coding is the future, it’s imperative that children have access to coding education. Thank you for speaking with us, Jesse and Kathy! We can’t wait to see what you come up with next, Jesse. Keep coding!