“Coding should be required in every school because it’s as important as any kind of second language.” -Tim Cook
Inside Game Worlds with Alicia Andrew and Leif Seifert
Presentation Times: 11:00 and 1:00 Game Worlds is a summer camp and afterschool program that teaches students game development through coding, art, design and audio.
Alicia Andrew founded Game Worlds in 2013 in an effort to enable game industry veterans to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation of students and developers. Alicia’s own career includes more than a decade of experience in the game industry, including a variety of production roles (3D modeling, Texturing, Concepting and Art) and as Studio Manager of Meta 3D Studios, where she managed the outsource teams and internal and external business.
Leif Seifert joined Game Worlds full time in 2016. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Visualization from Texas A&M. During his time in the game industry, he had the opportunity to design a number of educational games around college-level subjects, including Art History and Calculus. As the Co-Owner of Game Worlds, Leif has continued to explore and share his knowledge on the relationship between education and interactive media.
Hands-on Activities
Stations run continuously from 10am-2pm
1. NASA Rover Game
Be a scientist at Mission Control and drive the NASA Rover. Code a directional program to move the Rover to its targeted destination. Avoid obstacles and keep your directions in the fewest possible steps, or your Rover may run out of power before completing its task. Can you complete all 12 levels of the mission?
2. Code-Your-Own-Adventure in Minecraft
Learn coding and test your skills in the world of Minecraft. Start with basic commands, then learn how to repeat directions by programming loops. Finally, try out more advanced “if-then” codes. Which Minecraft coding adventure will you seek to complete first?
3. Harry Potter and the Magic of Coding
With coding skills, even Muggles can wield a wand like Harry Potter! Can you make feathers fly? Make fire flow? Make goblets multiply? Make pumpkins grow? Only the bravest programmers should attempt this wizardly coding challenge!
Learning Labs
Kinder-2nd Grade - Coding Obstacle Course, 10:30am, lasts 45 minutes
Meet our robot, Botley! Learn to communicate with Botley through basic coding, then test your programming skills by guiding Botley through a Science Mill obstacle course.
3rd-5th Grade - Scratch Animation, 11:30am, lasts 60 minutes
Create and animate a virtual pet using Scratch 3.0, a powerful visual programming language. Like any good pet owner, you’ll need to feed your pet, give them a drink, play and even talk with them -- all by using your coding skills!
6th-12th Grade - EZ Robot, 1pm, lasts 75 minutes
Be a robotic engineer for the afternoon and get to know your new coworkers, the Science Mill’s EZ Robots! Design and customize an app for your EZ Robot that will code it to move, grab and make sounds.