NewTechKids has been invited to be one of the workshop organisers for Theo Thijssenschool’s Kunstweken 2018 (Arts Weeks 2018) which runs from March 5 – 16. Theo Thijssenschool is a primary school in Amsterdam.

Under the theme ‘Make Your Own City’, students are exploring various themes: What does the ideal city look like? How do students experience their city? What inspires them? What would they like to see changed in their city?

Parents and teachers are teaching all kinds of creative workshops, from crafts to knitting, computer science and programming, painting, cooking, drawing, writing, singing and filming.

NewTechKids is teaching two workshops focused on designing a city for robots. We’re teaching children about automation in the context of programming and having them design a city navigated by robots. The discussions are rich: pros and cons of robots and the effect that they will have humans.

The combination of art and computer science never ceases to amaze us. By focusing on art, every child has the opportunity to express their creativity while learning fundamental computer science concepts. Long live STEAM!

We’re also super pleased that the school’s ICT coordinator (who is also a teacher) is serving as our assistant teacher to see how computer science can be taught.