CS&E’s Computing Summer Camp Sparks Students’ Interest in Coding for Over 10 Years
Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) professor Maria Gini celebrated her 10th annual computing summer camp this June. Officially established in 2014, the two-week program teaches coding basics to middle and high school students, culminating in a final design project. The program aims to help get more young students, especially girls, interested in computer science, programming, and engineering.
This summer camp was made possible by a $50,000 donation in 2014 from an anonymous donor, after a meeting with former Department Head professor Vipin Kumar. The donor was impressed by the activity of a group of girls in a foreign country who had started teaching programming to other girls. Over the years, grants and sponsorships from different sources have played a role to keep the camp up and running, ensuring younger students can have their experience in coding regardless of their financial status.
“I do this summer camp because I know it really makes a difference for the students,” Gini said. “I have kept track of my former students, and a number of them go on to study computer science or some form of engineering. Particularly for women, a lot of these girls don’t think that computer science or engineering is for them. I want to show them that they can have fun using computers and programming. I want them to understand their choices and not be limited by the perception of the field.”
The camp curriculum is structured around an introduction to the Python programming language in order to give students a basic understanding of computational thinking. Each morning is spent in the computer lab going over material and coding basics, incorporating many creative-based activities such as drawings or animation. After lunch, students work in the lab on their individual projects and learn how to use programming tools for drawing. Students' projects can range from a variety of topics, such as coding a Connect 4 two-player game using artificial intelligence, or building an app that scrapes the web for summer camps in Minnesota, and much more.
“The most interesting thing that I learned at this camp was using Python in general,” Kavin Meganatehan, a 13-year-old first-time camp goer, said. “At first I didn’t know how to go through with the building because I am inexperienced and this is my first time coding. It’s fun to get into a new area of coding and it’s a step forward that I can use to continue with computer science and coding.”
“My favorite part was working with some of the volunteers, especially PhD students in computer science,” said Saanvi Rangarajan. Rangarajan is in her second year of the camp. “Working with the people here to build my individual project has been a fun experience and I am almost done with the back end, so I’m really excited for what comes next.”
Each year, professor Gini asks former students if they are interested in coming back to volunteer and help run the camp. Coming back to help is a great opportunity to continue learning and gain experience teaching younger kids. Volunteers help students work through coding issues and clarify class subjects.
“I think it is interesting having been here a couple of years ago myself and seeing how students are really involved in the camp now,” volunteer Sathtya Satish said. “I am able to see how each student comes up with their own final project and each project is so unique. It’s quite interesting to see what the kids are up to and help them whenever they need it. Seeing that diversity in their coding interests is really nice.”
Over the last few years of the camp, the final coding project has revolved around 3D printing in Anderson Lab. This year, the students used the laser cutter to build a wooden box with their own design and art at the top. Integrating 3D printing has helped students be creative and showcase the breadth of the computer science field. It is not all happening in the cloud; students can use these skills to build real-life products.
“I hope the students understand what computer science is and understand their options in computing and engineering,” Gini said. “We also have current college students talk about their experiences in the major and doing research. We want these students to understand career choices as well as academic choices, and discover all that computers have to offer. It’s not just complex computation, you can be creative and make things that interest you.”