Media Contact
Jessalyn Holdcraft, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
jessalyn@iowastartupaccelerator.com
Cedar Rapids, IA, December 11, 2015
Imagination Iowa and the Cedar Rapids School District Team Up to Help Kids Complete an Hour of Code
750 students completed an Hour of Code thanks to a partnership between Imagination Iowa and the Cedar Rapids School District.
Led by Imagination Iowa Lead Mentor David Tominsky and Cedar Rapids School District Curriculum Facilitator – Career and Technical Education Tara Troester students across the city participated in Computer Science Education Week by spending an hour learning how to code through Code.Org’s Hour of Code initiative.
“Our goal this week was to help provide an opportunity for kids to experience computer science hands on,” Tominsky said. “Watching kids discover that they can write code is inspiring and I believe it will be a game-changer for Iowa to bring these experiences to all kids in the state.”
The week kicked off with 450 students filling Whipple Auditorium at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Hour of Code transported students to a galaxy far, far away to learn how to code with R2D2 and C3PO.
The rest of the week, Hour of Code was housed at Iowa Startup Accelerator located in the Geonetric building. There, 300 more students were introduced to coding, including a group of 64 3rd graders creating a trivia game with Steve Davis, President of Bio::Neos.
Next week, Imagination Iowa will partner with Iowa BIG and the Cedar Rapids School District for another STEM initiative, this time targeted at high school students. Working with Congressman Rod Blum’s staff, the Congressional App Challenge is live in the district with an official kick off next week. The Congressional App Challenge is a competition aimed at encouraging U.S. high school students to learn how to code by creating their own applications.
Imagination Iowa mentors and talented technologists Levi Bostian and Mark Hadley will serve as advisers for teams who are interested in submitting an app to the challenge.
To see pictures of Imagination Iowa’s Computer Science Education Week and all of the Hours of Code, go here.
More information about Imagination Iowa here.
More information about Computer Science Education Week here.
More information about Code.Org’s Hour of Code here.
Additional coverage of Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week by KCRG-TV 9 and KGAN CBS 2.
More information about the Congressional App Challenge here.
Congressman Rod Blum’s official Congressional App Challenge press release here.
