Here are the activities that each group will be working on today:
Newcomers
If you are new to CoderDojo and new to computer programming this is where you start:
Scratch 1
Quest Game
This week we will make a role playing game (RPG) called Quest. This actually could be great starter for game that you could keep working on and make into a more advanced game!
Click here for instructions for the Quest Game project
Try to complete all the add ons!
How many Add-Ons can you complete?
Scratch 2
Missile Command, classic arcade game
Have added your version of Missile Command to our project studio yet? If not add it now:
Please add your project to our projects studio – even if it is not working yet
Share your missile command project and add it to this studio even if it is not working at all. This is so that the mentors can check on everyone’s progress.
Keep working on adding your own features and make it more like a real game with scoring and levels, etc. How about adding some sound effects?
Here are some things to add:
- Scoring
- Lives – the original game has 6 cities that you defend. When a city gets hit it is destroyed. When all cities are destroyed, game is over.
- Levels
- Bonus target – original game has an alien that crosses the screen at random intervals (from level 2 onwards). You get bonus score for hitting the alien.
- Ammunition – original game has 3 missile silos, each with 10 missiles, so you have up to 30 shots per level. Your missiles get replenished every level.
- Missile traces – you can use the pen tool to draw the missile traces. Note: You cannot erase part of what is drawn by the pen tool or just what one sprite draws, the only way is to erase everything drawn by the pen. So the trick is to redraw all the active traces after you erase all.
- Splitting missile
- Sound effects
Robotics
This session is run by Nathalie. An introduction to robotics using mBot robot kits and a block programming language called mBlock which is similar to Scratch.
3D Computer Aided Design with TinkerCAD
Learn how to make 3D models using Tinkercad. Tinkercad is an easy-to-use 3D computer aided design (CAD) tool. You can quickly turn your idea into a CAD model for a 3D printer with Tinkercad.
Microcontrollers
A collaborative group exploring how computers can interact with the outside world through a range of sensors and controllers. Primarily we’ll be using the Raspberry Pi (http://raspberrypi.org) computer in conjunction with Arduinos (http://arduino.cc) and along the way we’ll learn about Python, C and C++ programming, digital and analogue electronics and about working together.
Electronics, Microcontrollers and Raspberry Pi session information