Our mission at KID is to empower kids to become the creative problem-solvers of tomorrow. And that means all kids. This summer, we’re working to provide maker-based learning to as many as possible through our free coding camps and a special partnership with MCPS.
A new maker-based science curriculum designed by KID Museum will reach nearly 900 students this summer!
Our Maker Educators partnered with MCPS through the Maryland State Department of Education’s Learning in Extended Academic Programs (LEAP) grant to reach eight local Title 1 schools. KID’s six-week curriculum is designed to spark interest in STEM and help rising 2nd graders develop social-emotional skills that will serve them through their academic careers and beyond.
The curriculum will engage students in building and populating a biome. After selecting their biome, each class will research and build a model during the first week. Students will then learn basic coding as they build robotic animals, and develop their maker skills as they design a city and transportation that would exist in their chosen biome.
“By collaborating with teachers, we are able to reach so many kids who would not typically have access to this type of learning,” says Liza Manfred, KID Museum Director of Education Strategy and Planning, and one of the program’s developers. “We’re hoping that these units and lessons expand maker-based, hands-on learning into daily classroom work during the school year.”
Free coding camps for the kids of Montgomery County.
Last week, KID hosted coding camps for elementary and middle school students at the Germantown Library. Students got to learn coding programs such as Scratch, Micr:bits, Hummingbird, and Arduino – programs that allow kids to tap into their creativity! The camps offer an entry into coding for youth from low-income areas.
“These camps give kids the foundation for coding, and really spark their creative confidence,” says KID Museum Educator, Gavin Donnelly. “With these tools, they can bring their ideas to life.”
The coding camps will be continued the week of July 22-26 at Silver Spring Library for rising 2nd through 7th graders.
– Becca Neuman, KID Museum
