With the help of their team, two sixth grade girls, Fiona Brennan and Semira Lacet-Brown, won Startup Weekend at the University of Washington. Their game, Generation Code, is aimed to teach kids aged 9-12 how to code. From GeekWire:
As Lacet-Brown was interested in coding and Brennan was interested in design, they sat down together and came up with a computer game that teaches young kids how to code. The game has levels and obstacles. Professor Gram, a character in the game, will show up occasionally to explain and teach a lesson that relates to programming. When the gamer comes across a “Code Monster,” they will have to apply what they have learned to defeat the monster and complete the level.
The game is targeted to 9- to 12-year-olds. The girls plan to partner with Code.org, a non-profit organization that works to bring computer science to K-12 schools in the U.S.
“This is our generation,” Brennan said.
“It’s overall pretty awesome. … Kids are just as awesome as adults,” Lacet-Brown added.
Not only did they lead their team to a win against 10 professional teams, prior to the Startup Weekend, Brennan and Lacet-Brown had already formed a company with six other sixth graders called Giggy Games, Inc. The company aims to create fun games for middle school and high school kids. Even though the company has not released a product yet, the girls are ready to take what they have learned back to the team to start creating games.
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