Coding for Kids

While at a recent science exhibit event at Conner Prairie in Fishers, Indiana, my daughters got a very basic lesson in computer hardware and coding.  On the table was a desktop computer tower with the shell open for kids to peer inside.  The person at the table explained the basics of computer hardware which was a neat thing for the kids as they had never seen the inside of a computer before.

Also at this table was a very basic coding introduction in which kids made bracelets and/or necklaces of their names in binary code.  Very cool!

As you can see in the image above, there were sheets of binary code for each letter of the alphabet that my girls used as a guide to make their 'name' necklace.  They were both excited and thought this was very cool!

This summer when we have more time I plan on introducing both girls to basic coding.  There are several websites I've bookmarked so I first need to go through them and find the best ones.  It'll be one of many things we do this summer, but I want them to have some basic coding experience at a young age.  I never did any coding as a kid and I regret not taking any coding classes in college.  I did some coding in grad school, but had to learn everything from scratch and was never fully comfortable with it.  Coding is a great skill to have and can lead to further opportunities in the future for those who have the skills.