About CoderDojo Nelson Code Club
CoderDojo Nelson Code Club is a free, volunteer run, computer and technology club that is open to all young people from the ages of 7 to 17. We meet weekly and guide the kids through computing and technological activities in a number of different topics. We cater for all levels, from complete beginner to advanced. We rely on volunteers to run the club and are very interested in having new volunteers join to help out with our existing programmes or start up new programmes in topics that would be of interest to kids.
Our Current Volunteers
Aidan Curran
Aidan started the CoderDojo club in Nelson in 2015. Aidan works as a web developer and has his own web design business called Stellar Web Works. At CoderDojo, Aidan leads activities in Scratch, Web Development and sometimes introduces other topics.
John-Paul Pochin
John Paul is a recipient of a Kiwibank local hero award for his work as a founder of Nelson’s biennial winter festival, Light Nelson. He is passionate about the link between science, technology and art. He is a photographer by profession and has previously worked as a software engineer. At CoderDojo John Paul guides kids in activities involving computing and electronics. He operates a ‘makerspace’ at his studio on Bridge St. from where he runs the CoderDojo sessions on Thursday evenings.
Nathalie Lacaze Campbell
Nathalie is passionate about making robotics and computing fun to learn. Nathalie delivers workshops on robotics in schools and libraries and Ministry Of Inspiration. In 2019 Nathalie is introducing an new online STEAM educational programme called Smartbots which aims to introduce young people to robotics and computer programming. At CoderDojo Nathalie runs a robotics programme using M-Bot kits (based on Arduino) and M-Block programming language (based on Scratch).
Martin Love
Martin, formerly a teacher at Nelson College, has been involved with the club since the start as a parent and a helper. Martin helps all around with administrative & housekeeping tasks. He introduced Computer Aided Design with TinkerCAD which runs whenever there is interest and also assists with Newcomers, Scratch and Robotics groups.
Hayden Flintoft
Hayden joined us first as a parent and in 2023 volunteered to run a beginners Python group. He also helps out with the Scratch and Newcomers groups.
What is CoderDojo?
CoderDojo is a volunteer led, global movement of free computer coding clubs for young people.
In 2015 CoderDojo Nelson joined CoderDojo Porirua and CoderDojo Invercargill as New Zealand’s third CoderDojo. We aim to give girls and boys from ages 7 upwards the opportunity to learn computer coding in a fun and friendly environment.
What is Code Club?
Code Club is another network of free computer coding clubs for young people with similar objectives to CoderDojo but has a larger network of clubs in New Zealand than CoderDojo. Code Club is part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. In 2016 CoderDojo Nelson also became affiliated with Code Club Aotearoa while retaining our affiliation with the CoderDojo Foundation.
CoderDojo and Code Club together
In May 2017 the CoderDojo Foundation announced that they would be joining forces with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the parent organisation of Code Club, in a merger to pool resources and give many more young people the opportunity to learn how to code and create.
As of September 2024, CoderDojo and Code Club have integrated under one global website and one brand ‘Code Club’ to avoid duplication of resources. We will retain CoderDojo in the name of our club so the official name of our club is ‘CoderDojo Nelson Code Club’.
Who is it for?
As a global organisation, CoderDojo targets young people between the ages on 7 and 17. At the moment we have kids between the ages of 7 and 16 years attending but would also like to encourage older teenagers to attend. No previous experience with computers is required.
Are parents required to attend?
We recommend that younger children (10 and under) or those with special needs be accompanied by a parent or care-giver. Children that can self-manage may be left as long as you provide us with a phone number where you can be reached and a signed consent form.
When and where?
The club meets at NMIT in Nelson on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8pm. Room location is provided once you have registered. John Paul’s group meet at his Bridge St. studio. As of term 3 2020 John Paul’s electronics group has moved to Thursdays (check with John Paul for exact time).
Do I need my own computer or equipment
For Newcomers, Scratch and some other groups we use NMIT computers so you do not need to bring your own. Our Intro to Programming group requires you to bring a your own (or a borrowed) laptop. Some kids bring their own devices and/or equipment to the Robotics and Electronics groups but generally you do not need to bring anything when you are just starting.
What does it cost?
CoderDojo is free as it is run by volunteers and NMIT are providing the facilities free of charge. We do recommend a small donation of $10-$20 per term to cover cost of equipment and supplies.
What topics are covered at a CoderDojo session?
For absolute beginners we start with Code Studio where the kids learn some of the basic concepts by connecting blocks of code together to solve puzzles. Once the children have some basic coding concepts we have them work on Scratch which is a fun and easy to learn drag and drop programming language designed for teaching programming to kids. We have web design available as a topic and sometimes introduce other topics such as JavaScript and Python. For those that are interested in using programming to interact with the physical world we have introductory robotics using M-Bot kits and electronics/micro-controllers which introduces Arduino, Raspberry Pi, electronic components and various programming languages.
We may introduce other topics as we go along depending on the interests of the children and knowledge of our volunteer mentors. We are totally open and encouraging to new volunteers joining us and leading activities in their own fields of interests.
The basic idea at CoderDojo is that each child works at their own individual pace, guided by the mentors, and shares their achievements and enthusiasm with the other children.