Birmingham Public Library Partners with Girls Inc. to Offer Virtual AspireIT Coding Camps in July

What: Intro to Game Design, an AspireIT girls coding camp and Code205: Summer Remix 
When: July 13-17, 2020 (6th and 7th Grades) - Intro to Game Design
July 20-24, 2020 (4th-5th Grades) - Code205: Summer Remix 
Where: Girls Inc. online class; information on how to register will be provided to participants.
Details: Intro to Game Design is a code-based camp designed to support girls who are interested in developing computer science skills.

The Birmingham Public Library is partnering with Girls Inc. to offer two virtual AspireIT coding camps beginning next week. NCIT AspireIT presents classes teaching computer programming fundamentals for girls in grades K-12.

Two online camps for girls, "Code 205" and "Intro to Game Design," will be offered July 13-17, 2020 for 6th and 7th graders and July 20-24, 2020, for attendees of Girls Inc. in Birmingham.

Intro to Game Design is a code-based camp that offers girls a new set of digital and technological skills. It is designed to foster support for girls and women who are interested in developing computer science skills.

 Code205: Summer Remix is a code-based program that also helps younger girls digital and technological skills. During this camp, participants will use computer science to create stories with the projects they build.

Students will be introduced to more basics of Scratch coding using CS First and transition to its application with robots. The program will also touch on a variety of social issues such as computer science career paths, advertisement tricks, and the role of storytelling in the spread of diversity.

BPL Regional Manager Bessie Miller said the camps are courtesy of $6,000 in AspireIT grant funds have been graciously donated by Apple, Google, Northrop Grumman, Amazon, Walmart, the Televisa Foundation, the Cognizant USA Foundation, and the Department of Defense."We anticipate that girls will show an increase in awareness and interest in STEM-related disciplines and careers," she said.

Camps are being led by UAB recent graduate Zena Banker and high school student Katelyn Miller.
The programming team includes UAB mentors, high school interns, and the BPL Youth and Teen staff.

In November 2019, BPL won a $15,000 Computer Science for All grant for a Girls Code205 workshop that was led by Banker, the UAB engineering graduate. That program was a partnership between the Birmingham Public Library and the National Center for Women & IT.