Computer Science Education Week is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field.
This year, we kicked the week off with our Computer Science Equity Townhall, where a panel of industry and education experts discussed the real challenges of Computer Science opportunities available to under-represented groups, women and people of color. We also highlighted recent programs and initiatives presented by community leaders and organizations in Santa Cruz County designed to bridge the gap in Computer Science education.
We had an awesome time developing resources, lesson plans and activities for teachers in all grades across the county, with Hour of Code being a landing spot for exciting CS activities. We enjoyed videos from many CSHeroes that showed us that Computer Science is everywhere, and an amazing place to be! You can access all of these activities and lessons in our Resource Center.
Our culminating event was a fantastic night of exploration at our CS Playground Family Night at the Museum of Art and History on Thursday, December 8. We literally took over the MAH with activities, games, and computer technology stations for young and old alike. We had so many exciting activities, including a scavenger hunt around the museum, programming robots, designing apps with block code, putting together a computer with a working Raspberry pi, and participating in a computer disassembly/assembly demonstration. We had a blast with everyone who joined us, and are excited to continue community events like this next year!