How we spent our summer

Coding projects designed, tested and trained. We’re ready for students!

Long before students start their first day of coding in September, the Bold Idea team will have spent countless hours and months in preparation. 

Starting in June, our staff and volunteers gathered to design new coding projects for students. This semester 6th - 12th grade teams can look forward to coding in Minecraft, while learning Python - a popular and beginner-friendly programming language. Most of us are big Minecraft fans as well, and it’s something students have been talking about for a while - so, we knew it would be a huge hit!

A group of our mentors and program designers during one of our Saturday hackathons.

Like our students, we are creators at heart. We love to explore what made us excited about coding when we were young and designing projects that engage young coders. And as software engineers ourselves, we know that a supportive mentor and hands-on experience can have a huge impact on building confidence in computer science. 

Mentor kickoff
Thirty six volunteers attended Mentor Kickoff recently and got a first preview of the new Minecraft + Python course. Working in teams of two, they took on ‘Level-Up challenges’ in Minecraft, like Escape the Pit and Teleportation Pad.

Mentors supporting 3rd-5th grade coders explored MIT Scratch and, new for this semester - a challenging project designed to help intermediate coders address a community problem by creating a mobile app solution. 

In total, 50 mentors will engage with students during Bold Idea’s weekly computer science sessions at 6 program sites this fall.