Why should kids participate in tech innovation classes and bootcamps? To understand the science of tech (computer science)? Yep! To learn how to code? Yep! For NewTechKids, it's even more simple than that. It's to instill an innovator's mindset and show them, from an early age, that they can become tech inventors. They can identify problems, then develop solutions and create new opportunities with tech knowledge, skills and materials. They can design, build and code
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This week, NewTechKids had a dream gig: taking over two classes of primary school students in grades 7 and 8 at the Montessori Kind Centrum Zeeburgereiland for three days and teaching a project-based, computer science bootcamp. We were participating as a member of the Mokum Maakcoalitie, a network of organizations in Amsterdam dedicated to Maker education, which is coordinated by Maakplaats021 and the Amsterdam Public Library. NewTechKids and five other organizations took over teaching responsibilities from the
Read moreRegister here. It's that time of the year again. NewTechKids has opened registration for its Summer 2022 bootcamps which will take place at the Amsterdam Public Library near Centraal Station. We'll be teaching six, weekly bootcamps during which kids ages 8-12 will discover computer science, coding, robotics and design while discussing inspiring examples of technology. The bootcamps will take place from July 18 - August 26, 2022. Our bootcamps are designed to give kids a
Read moreNewTechKids is proud to officially launch Mokum Maakcoalitie activities along with our partners: the Amsterdam Public Library/Maakplaats021, de Waag, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Hogeschool van Amsterdam. NEMO Science Museum, Cinekid, The Beach, Designathon Works, Lekkersamenklooien, Cultura Nederland, Next Nature Network en de W&T kennismakelaars (Science & Technology knowledge brokers) from the City of Amsterdam. Our joint mission is to accelerate the spread of Maker education in the City of Amsterdam through in-school and extracurricular activities for
Read moreNewTechKids has wrapped up our computer science and robotics bootcamp for high-potential teens from Amsterdam southeast, a low-income, largely immigrant community. According to one of our teachers, it was "one of the best classes" he's taught over his seven year career at NewTechKids. The magic ingredient? The kids themselves. Every Sunday, these kids rode the subway for 25 minutes to the Library, often accompanied by their parents and group mentor. Many came early and they
Read moreNewTechKids is teaching another cohort of 'Rising Technologists', kids from low-income communities in Amsterdam who have the potential to pursue study and career paths related to technology if they are given exposure and access to technology education. The odds are stacked against them but we have confidence that they will overcome the conditions they face in Amsterdam: Highest number of single parent households Highest number of households which earn less than welfare-level income 10-year old
Read moreWe often tell our students that technology, whether devices or software, wasn't invented in a day. The phone, TV or gaming console that they use was developed over years by multiple people and is still being improved upon now. All invention processes start with protototyping. Inventors create a quick and dirty object and then test and refine it. There's often a lot of failure involved and inventors need to develop resilience to keep trying and
Read moreNewTechKids is teaching a 10-week bootcamp in partnership with Dynamo Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Public Library. Dynamo organizes activities for children in different neighbourhoods through its Talententent program. The bootcamp for kids ages 8-12 is being held at the Library's Ijburg branch. Kids are inventing a series of robots and tech prototypes based on popular children's books and films. So far, they've designed robot snails based on the "Turbo" film and chocolate factory robots based
Read moreThe best, most future-proof skill that parents, caregivers and teachers can impart to kids is "learning how to learn" and mastering different ways of learning. As such, NewTechKids is organizing 'Try It Out' workshops on Saturday, January 15th and Sunday, January 16th for kids ages 8-12 at the Amsterdam Public Library. The workshops will take place each day from 13:00 - 14:30 and 15:00 - 16:30. Spaces are limited. Register here. During these workshops, we'll
Read morePlaying to boys' interests starts early, sadly often in coding and computer science classes at the primary school level. The temptation is to focus on diving into the ultra-geeky, more masculine activities to showcase all of the cool stuff you can do with tech. Race car robots. Monster robots. Space warrior robots. Etcetera. But that's exactly when teachers make the biggest mistakes in terms of excluding many girls who are yet to discover the magic
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