Get STEAMed for BPL’s Girls Code 205 Virtual Summer Camp

 

Registration is underway now for a Girls Coding Camp 205 Virtual Summer Camp that begins June 15.

By Caitlin Jackson | Central Library Teen/Youth Services Department 

This summer, the Birmingham Public Library will host the Girls Code 205 Virtual Summer Camp. Registration for this online camp is under way now. 

The camp will be held on select Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. beginning June 15, 2021 and run throughout the summer. The camp targets girls going into grades 6th through 12th grade and will meet completely online using Zoom.

The program will cover electrical circuits, game design, 3D design, C++ and Scratch coding. These STEAM projects will be paired with social and cultural issues, such as fake news, advertising bias, communication, secure passwords, gamification in education, and design thinking.

For some of the electrical circuitry programs, the library will be providing Arduino kits for participants to keep. Due to the need to mail these supplies, registration for the camp began February 17 and ends on April 30 so that we have time to mail supplies as needed. 

A Google form link will be provided below specifically for these kits, allowing participants to choose between mailing the kit or picking it up from the library. These kits and the program are sponsored by the NCWIT AspireIT grant.

Registration and waivers must be completed on the AspireIT website, as well as the Google Form. The camp will have a limit of 30 participants.

 Participants MUST turn in a waiver to participate and receive a kit. 

There will be eight meetings in total:

• June 15 

• June 17 

• June 22

• June 24

• July 6 

• July 8

• July 13 

• July 15 

Any changes to these dates will be sent to the emails provided on the registration form. 

Things Required for Camp: 

 • Access to an email account (Google recommended, but not required) 

 • Access to Zoom 

 • Tinkercad account

 • Arduino IDE Web Editor account (Personal account recommended, but not required)

 • Access to a Laptop (Some activities can be accessed with phone or tablet, but others, like the electrical circuits, cannot) 

 • Arduino Kits (Provided by the Library) 

 Some of the accounts may require parental permission to create if younger than a certain age.

Here are some important links for program participants: 

 • Registration and Waiver: https://aspireit.aspirations.org/programs/events/28607/girls-code-205 

 Waivers will be emailed directly to the email listed in the registration.

 • Google Form for Kits: https://forms.gle/XeZAYrrXnWKuEkyY7

 For any questions about registration, please contact the teen librarian, Caitlin Jackson, at caitlin.jackson@cobpl.org or (205)-226-3655. 

In November 2019, BPL partnered with the National Center for Women in IT to win a $15,000 grant from Computer Science for ALL(CSforALL). BPL was the only public library in Alabama to win the grant. The funds were used to create BPL’s Girls Coding 205 Program to help boost computer coding opportunities for young girls and teens.