Eleven youth spent a week this summer coding and creating scenes from their favorite movies during 4-H Clay County’s Coding & Creating Camp. Inspired by the belief that every youth can code and create, the camp was designed to allow youth to recreate a scene from their favorite childhood story by coding a robot, the Sphero Bolt, as the main character of the movie scene. Youth teams had to design a background set using materials such as cardboard, paint, hot glue, and fabric. Then youth programmed their Sphero Bolt robot to move through the set. Additionally, each youth team created a 3D printed item using the Tinkercad platform or Thingiverse.
Camper Everleigh Cannarella shared, “I loved all things about camp and learning how to make a movie. I really enjoyed 3D printing and coding the Bolt and games.”
The camp had positive results. 100% of the youth reported the camp gave them an opportunity to explore a spark that they really cared about and 75% reported a positive attitude increase toward STEM.
Luke Olson, one of our 4-H campers, shared, “Coding and creating camp was awesome! I loved that we got to go on field trips to see engineering in action and learn about 3D printing.”
As part of the camp, youth were able to learn more about careers in STEM. A visit to the Anatomic Modeling Unit and the Department of Engineering at the Mayo Clinic Florida demonstrated how 3D modeling is used in medicine. The campers saw different types of 3D printers and participated in a hands-on lab with the team.
Tia Olson shared in her son’s excitement and mentioned that the field trip to Mayo Clinic was one of her son’s favorite parts of the camp. “The Mayo Clinic was definitely a highlight of the week and being able to learn and utilize technology as creatives is such a gift and skill. Thank you for fostering that love and exposing these kids to so much good. As a parent I have a hard time balancing technology and wanting my kids not to be ‘glued to a screen,’ and after this week I have a supreme appreciation and new outlook on encouraging creativity through technology.”
In addition to the Mayo Clinic, youth visited the Apple Store at the St. Johns Town Center to learn how to code using Apple’s Swift Playgrounds programming language. The youth learned how to code loops, if else statements, and for statements.
When asked what was the most important things that they learned during camp, 63% of the campers reported increasing their STEM content knowledge and 44% reported increasing their teamwork skills.
Teen counselor Richie Marrero shared, “my experience being a Teen Counselor at this week’s Coding & Creating camp was a blast! I enjoyed assisting Ms. Elaine with different tasks and helping the campers with the fun activities & projects. I learned a lot about 3D Printing, valuable team-work skills, and a lot more.”
The camp is part of a series of programs being offered through the Florida 4-H STEAM Initiative with support from Apple. Clay County 4-H is excited to be part of this exciting initiative to empower youth with skills to thrive and excel in the workforce and careers of the future. As part of its Community Education Initiative, Apple is providing Florida 4-H with the hardware, professional learning, and support to make camps like this possible.
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